Owners fight animal cruelty charge after untreated tumor kills their dog

Veterinarians said a dog in Punta Gorda went through unbearable pain because of a large, untreated cancerous tumor. Now, one of her owners is facing a serious charge.

It was a sad ending for a dog named Callie, who doctors said was abandoned and left to suffer in terrible pain. One of Callie’s owner is facing an animal cruelty charge. The dog had a large infected tumor on its eye.

Callie had been sick for a month before she was brought in to be put down. Investigators said she was not taken to the veterinarian. Her owner, Edmund Bittner, said Callie was 12-years-old. At that age, she was too old to survive the surgery.

”And because of her age, she may not come out of the anesthesia,” Edmund Bittner said. “And that’s why we kept her.”

Her other owner, Kim Bittner, said Callie was happy.

”She still wagged her tail,” Bittner said. “She still wanted her treats.”

The owners told WINK News they plan to fight the charges. They said they rescued Callie 12 years ago when she was a puppy. They plan to show a judge all of Callie’s veterinarian records.

”She wasn’t in pain,” Kim Bittner said. “We kept her until the very last end. Regardless of what she looked like, it didn’t matter. She was still beautiful. She wanted to be with mommy.”