Man Arrested for Killing Girlfriend's Dog Supporting Image
A former Florida police officer is at the center of a disturbing animal cruelty case after investigators say he used rat poison to kill his ex-girlfriend’s 3-year-old Maltese poodle. The small dog, once a fixture in the couple’s home, is now evidence in a felony prosecution that has rattled both animal lovers and law enforcement circles.
Prosecutors say the case is not about a split gone bad so much as a calculated act that targeted a defenseless pet. The allegations have raised hard questions about trust, power, and what happens when someone trained to protect a community is instead accused of inflicting deliberate harm.
How a breakup turned into a felony animal cruelty case
According to investigators with the Hillsborough County Sheriff, Office, the ex-boyfriend at the center of the case is 22-year-old former officer Edwin Campuzano, who is accused of poisoning the dog inside his ex’s home in Hillsborough County after their relationship ended. A detailed release from the sheriff’s office describes how deputies were called when the woman found her 3-year-old Maltese poodle gravely ill, and a necropsy later pointed to rat poison as the cause of death, leading to an aggravated cruelty to animals charge documented in the official press release. The same account notes that the dog’s owner told deputies her former boyfriend had never liked the pet and had access to the home shortly before the animal suddenly became sick.
Authorities say the suspect did not wait to be picked up. Instead, they report that Edwin Campuzano turned himself in to the Hillsborough County Sheriff, Offic after detectives gathered enough evidence to seek a warrant, a step that was later echoed in a separate summary of the case involving the aggravated cruelty charge. In a video statement, The Hillsborough County Sheriff, Office framed the arrest as the result of a thorough investigation into the poisoning of the dog, underscoring that the agency treats violent acts against animals as serious crimes, a message reinforced in a social media reel highlighting the arrest.
From Bartow patrol car to criminal defendant
The case hits differently because of who the suspect is. Before his arrest, Edwin Campuzano served as a police officer with the Bartow Police Department in Polk County, a role that put him in uniform and behind the wheel of a patrol car in a small Florida city. Local reporting notes that he is a Former Bartow Police officer and that he was no longer employed by the agency by the time the dog was killed, a point the Hillsborough County Sheriff, Office emphasized in a follow up statement. Another account describes him more broadly as a Former Polk County officer, underscoring that his law enforcement experience came from that region, a detail repeated in coverage of the Polk County connection.
Investigators say the motive was painfully simple. The Hillsborough County Sheriff, Office has publicly alleged that the former officer poisoned the dog because he did not like the Animal and resented the bond between his ex and her pet, a claim that appears in both the official arrest narrative and a separate social media post announcing that a former Bartow officer had been arrested for poisoning his girlfriend’s Dog with Rat poison in Hillsborough County, a summary echoed in a national roundup. Another local report, By Joey Swanson and Joe Espy, Published January in EST, describes how the dog’s owner recalled the day she rushed her Maltese poodle for help and later learned he would not survive, a memory she said she would never forget as she spoke from Hillsborough County about her Former partner now facing a felony charge, details that appear in the television report.
Grief, accountability, and what comes next
For the dog’s owner, the legal process is layered on top of raw grief. In an interview, she described how the 3-year-old Maltese poodle was more than a pet, calling him a companion who helped her navigate daily life and saying “he died alone” after the poisoning, a phrase captured in a video segment that also notes that a former Barto police officer has been charged with aggravated cruelty to animals by the Hillsboro County Sheriff, Office for allegedly poisoning the dog with rat poison, as seen in the broadcast. Another outlet recounts how she noticed no early signs of danger before the dog suddenly became lethargic, a detail included in coverage that identifies Campuzano as a Former Bartow officer and tracks his decision to turn himself in after the investigation, as reflected in a regional report.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff, Office has tried to send a clear message that status will not shield anyone from consequences. In one social media reel, the sheriff’s office lays out how a former Bartow officer, identified as Edwin Campuzano, was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals after allegedly placing poison in his ex-girlfriend’s dog food, and notes that Composano has bonded out after his arrest, a detail included in the video. A separate clip from The Hillsborough County Sheriff, Office, labeled “Man Arrested for Killing His Girlfriend’s Dog,” walks viewers through the investigation that led to the aggravated cruelty charge and stresses that the agency will pursue justice for Animals, a message shared in the reel.
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