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Puppy vendor at flea market faces animal cruelty chargesBy Times staff writer© St. Petersburg Times published November 10, 2002 OLDSMAR -- Twenty-one puppies were found without food or water Saturday in a locked, foul-smelling booth at the Oldsmar Flea Market, and authorities intend to arrest the booth's owner on animal cruelty charges. The flea market's proprietor discovered the dogs, of assorted breeds, in separate crates about 1 p.m. after a neighboring booth owner complained about the stench. Two bottles of bleach had been left open in the 1,600-square-foot booth, and bleach vapors were mixing with ammonia from the dogs' urine to create "a very poor air quality," Pinellas County Sheriff's Office spokesman Cal Dennie said. The booth's owner -- Cynthia King of 12805 Horseshoe Road, Tampa -- was given notice by the flea market to vacate the booth on Nov. 1, but she had not done so. When deputies called her Saturday, she refused to come to the flea market and insisted that the puppies were fine, Dennie said. Deputies plan to charge King with 21 counts of animal cruelty, a first-degree misdemeanor. The puppies were placed in the custody of the Humane Society of North Pinellas.
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