Man Accused of Dragging Dog With Truck

GARDEN GROVE — A man suspected of killing a dog by dragging it behind his truck told police that the family pet was already dead when he tied the Dalmatian to the bumper and hauled it to an alley near his home.

Benjamin Arizon Albarez, 44, was arrested on suspicion of cruelty to animals after police found the dead dog surrounded by flies, its neck reddened by a tight leash.

“It definitely had been dragged, no doubt about that,” Garden Grove Police Lt. Scott Hamilton said Friday. “Whether it was alive or dead when he tied it to his car, that’s the key thing which will have to be determined later.”

Hamilton said the only witness was an undercover police officer who was working in the area. The officer alerted local police when he saw Albarez’s truck pulling the dog Thursday, Hamilton said.

The suspect’s wife, Maria Estelle Arizon, said her husband had given the dog to their daughter, Lupita, now 4, about a year ago.

“Nobody believes us, but the dog was dead,” Arizon said. Albarez “just wanted to get it out of the house” and didn’t put it in the truck because “it smelled a lot,” she said.

Dumping a dead animal in the street violates county health and safety codes.

Arizon said the family tended to the sick dog most of Wednesday night and her husband waited several hours after it died before taking the body out. But Albarez told police the dog was tied to a backyard tree when it died, Hamilton said.

Albarez is being held at Orange County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail.