Too many dogs at Jacksonville’s animal shelter; Humane Society helping
Michael Bricker with Jacksonville’s Animal Care & Protective Services talks about their efforts to find homes for their constant excess of dogs.
- An emaciated Great Dane was found on the side of a Jacksonville road and later died despite rescue efforts.
- An arrest has been made in the animal cruelty case, thanks to a tip to First Coast Crime Stoppers.
Seeing a Great Dane reduced to 52 pounds found on the side of a road, the Jacksonville community and multiple agencies stepped up and can now at least find solace in an arrest being made.
Named Miracle by Animal Care and Protective Services and described as a “gentle giant” by the woman who found him off Moncrief Road and 45th Street on Nov. 2, the dog didn’t make it after efforts to save his life.
With a financial contribution from Perrin Todd, who found the dog and got some help from a woman she flagged down driving by, First Coast Crime Stoppers offered an enhanced reward of $8,000 for information leading to an arrest.
At about 5:45 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, Animal Care and Protective Services posted this update on its Facebook:
Now, we know his real name — Oak. A strong name for a dog who fought to the very end. Today, there’s some good news. There’s been an arrest.
Our team worked hand in hand with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to investigate this heartbreaking case. Thanks to their persistence — and the compassion of the citizens who refused to look away — the person responsible is being held accountable.
“What we wanted from this was accountability,” said Animal Care and Protective Services Chief Michael Bricker said. “Thanks to the hard work of the citizen, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and our Animal Services Officer Stratton, it looks like we’re going to see exactly that.”
We can’t bring Oak back, but we can make sure his story stands for something. Justice matters. Compassion matters. And this community has shown both.
The agency did not identify the person arrested, but at about 9 p.m. the Sheriff’s Office posted the arrest of 42-year-old Dawn Lipford. Jail records show she is charged with aggravated animal cruelty and remained behind bars in lieu of $25,000 bail.
Todd said she was told by an officer it was because of a tip after stories were published by media and shared on social media about Miracle and the reward. She said investigators had an idea who was responsible but didn’t have concrete information until someone’s tip. She was told the person initially wasn’t going to come forward until seeing the Crime Stoppers reward and disclosed the dog’s owner.
“I know someone knows where this dog came from and who had this dog and put this dog in this situation,” Todd previously told the Times-Union.
Court records show Lipford lived at The Villas at Ortega on Timuquana Road as late as 2023, which was about the time Todd said the dog was a puppy registered by a pet store in that same area.
(This story has been updated with the name of the woman arrested.)