A dead pit bull named Blaze was discovered inside a Motel 6 bathroom in Riviera Beach on July 7, surrounded by blood and feces, after housekeeping staff made the grim find and called police. More than two months later, on Wednesday, 31-year-old Christian Xavier Fitzpatrick was arrested and charged with one count of aggravated animal cruelty in connection with the dog's death.
According to WPEC, the Riviera Beach Police Department responded to the Motel 6 at 3651 W. Blue Heron Blvd. on July 7 after staff found the red-nose pit bull's body. Officers reported finding a large amount of blood around the dog's body along with feces throughout the bathroom, and the arrest report described what investigators called a food wall near the bathroom wall. Evidence indicated Blaze had attempted to access water from the toilet before he died.
Animal Care and Control determined Blaze had no food in his stomach or bowel and little to no body fat, and found the dog in very poor condition and severely decomposed by the time he was examined. Investigators concluded he was severely malnourished at the time of death and likely died from dehydration, per the same account relayed by the station.
Conflicting Accounts of Who Had the Dog
The criminal complaint lays out a tangled timeline of who was responsible for Blaze in the days before he died. Fitzpatrick reportedly told his wife to pick up the dog and initially said the dog was fine with him, but later said he would be responsible for Blaze. His wife told investigators she left the dog with Fitzpatrick after leaving the hotel because she could not take the dog to where she was going.
Fitzpatrick's girlfriend told investigators the dog actually belonged to Fitzpatrick's wife, and said she had last seen Blaze about a week and a half before he died. Per the arrest report, Fitzpatrick had warned his wife that the dog would die without veterinary care. The hotel's owner told investigators Fitzpatrick had been seen walking Blaze on a leash around the property, the report notes.
Records show Fitzpatrick had previously been arrested near room 107 at the same property in an unrelated case, according to the report cited by the station.
Florida's Tougher Penalties for Aggravated Animal Cruelty
Fitzpatrick's single felony count carries steep consequences under Florida law. Aggravated animal cruelty is classified as a third-degree felony under Florida Statute § 828.12(2), carrying up to five years in prison.
Sentencing exposure for cases like this one has grown sharper in recent years. Under Dexter's Law, enacted in 2025, a 1.25 sentencing point multiplier now applies to aggravated animal cruelty offenses involving companion animals such as dogs, raising statutory scoring from 28 to 35 points and substantially increasing the likelihood of mandatory prison time, according to Musca Law.
The same law bars anyone who pleads guilty or no contest to animal cruelty charges from ever sealing or expunging their record, even if a judge withholds formal adjudication — a path that was previously available under certain outcomes. As of January 1, 2026, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement also maintains a public, searchable statewide animal abuse database of people convicted of or who pleaded guilty or no contest to animal cruelty, according to StateScoop, making Florida only the second state in the country with such a registry.
Separately, under Florida's Ponce's Law, passed in 2018, circuit judges have explicit authority to bar convicted animal cruelty offenders from owning, contacting, or living with domestic pets during probation or their sentence.
A County Shelter System Already Stretched Thin
Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control, the agency that examined Blaze's remains, operates as the county's sole open-admission public shelter and handles cruelty and neglect investigations across all 39 municipalities in the county, according to The Canine Review. On August 9, the agency's main shelter had 237 dogs for 144 kennels.
Fitzpatrick's arrest adds to a string of animal cruelty cases Hoodline has tracked across the county in recent months, including a Riviera Beach domestic attack case that also involved aggravated animal cruelty charges.
Open Questions in the Case
It remains unclear whether Fitzpatrick will face additional charges tied to the dog's abandonment, or how prosecutors will resolve the conflicting accounts among Fitzpatrick, his wife, and his girlfriend over who was actually responsible for Blaze in his final days. Also unresolved is why more than two months passed between the dog's discovery in July and Fitzpatrick's arrest in September. Fitzpatrick faces one count of aggravated animal cruelty as the case moves forward.
