A 58-year-old Deltona woman is facing two counts of animal cruelty after deputies and animal control officers found two English bulldogs living alone in a filthy house with no running water, floors coated in waste, and conditions investigators said were even worse once they stepped inside. Kristi Lynn Kilby surrendered both dogs before being taken to jail.
The case began with an anonymous tip that led Volusia County Sheriff's deputies and Deltona Animal Control officers to a residence on Monica Street, according to WFTV. Deputies arrived Sunday morning and found the two bulldogs extremely dirty and underweight, with floors covered in dog waste, per the station's reporting. The dogs were reportedly living alone with minimal contact from a caretaker, according to the Volusia Sheriff's Office.
Deputies identified Kilby as the property owner and tracked her down at a separate home, the outlet reports. She agreed to let deputies inside the Monica Street house, where they discovered conditions worse than what had been visible from the outside — including a complete lack of running water.
Dogs Surrendered as Kilby Is Booked
Kilby ultimately surrendered both bulldogs to Deltona Animal Control. She was then taken to the Volusia County Branch Jail, where she now faces the two animal cruelty counts, the same report states.
The arrest adds to a string of recent Volusia County animal neglect cases. In a separate incident in Osteen, deputies arrested 34-year-old Samantha Ashby after finding 10 animals living in what the Volusia Sheriff's Office described as conditions of significant concern, according to WFLA. That case involved two dogs found in crates — one surrounded by what deputies called excessive amounts of feces — with neither animal given food or water, while eight cats were discovered in a room with an odor so strong it made responding deputies cough and gag. Ashby was booked on 10 counts of animal cruelty at the same Volusia County jail where Kilby was taken.
Florida Law and a Push for Tougher Local Penalties
Under Florida law, cruelty is defined as an act of neglect, torture or torment that causes unjustifiable pain or suffering to an animal, according to state statute. Unnecessarily tormenting an animal or depriving it of necessary sustenance or shelter is classified as a first-degree misdemeanor carrying up to $5,000 in fines and possible imprisonment, while intentionally causing an animal's cruel death or repeated unnecessary suffering rises to a third-degree felony punishable by up to $10,000 in fines.
Separately, nearby Orange City is weighing a new civil ordinance that would let officials issue citations for animal cruelty, abandonment and failure to provide sufficient food, as reported by ClickOrlando. The proposal follows a Florida Legislature amendment granting municipalities broader authority to impose civil penalties for animal-control violations. Under the proposed rules, fines would max out at $2,500 for a first violation, $5,000 for a second and $7,500 for a third or subsequent offense — the maximum amounts allowed under state law — and anyone cited for a second or later violation would be required to appear in county court, though commissioners could still revise that provision. A civil citation under the Orange City proposal would not stop a separate criminal investigation or prosecution from moving forward under state law.
