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Police in Florida have arrested a former police officer for allegedly killing his ex-girlfriend’s dog.
A statement from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office noted Edwin Campuzano turned himself in on January 16.
Investigators had obtained an arrest warrant against him in December 2025, and Campuzano, 22, surrendered himself upon learning he was wanted.
Campuzano allegedly poisoned 3-year-old Maltese Poodle, Milo, while his ex, Paula Fernandez, was away on vacation.
“He would continuously tell me that he didn’t like Milo, but I didn’t think he would ever do something like that,” offered Fernandez during a press conference held on Friday, January 23.
Fernandez was on vacation on May 30, 2025, when her neighbor who’d been checking on the dog for her called to say Milo was gone.
“I’ll never forget that call. I’ll never forget that day,” said Fernandez during the press conference. “I just felt my heart drop, and it just didn’t make sense because I made sure to say bye to him in the morning before our flight, and he was perfectly fine. He was happy.
“By the time we got back to the house, we came home to an empty house when we should’ve come home to Milo running up to us, greeting us,” she continued. “In addition to that, there was blood on the floor, by the door, that we had to clean up because he [had been] vomiting.”
Fernandez said that Campuzano actually sent flowers — along with his condolences — to his grieving ex.
“At that time, I thought it was a sweet gesture, but now to know that he’s the one responsible for Milo’s death is a pain that I can’t even describe,” said Fernandez at the press conference.
Fernandez spoke to police about the dog’s death and shared photos of leftover pellets she found in Milo’s food bowl. Eventually, police would discover it was actually rodent poison.
A necropsy was performed on Milo, and it confirmed that he died from poisoning.
Investigators later obtained a copy of Campuzano’s credit card bill, which reportedly showed he purchased the poison from a Tractor Supply business two days before Milo was found dead.
“He died a painful death and he died alone,” said Fernandez at the press conference. “I just hope that there’s some way we can get justice for Milo because he didn’t deserve this.”
She added: “The scariest part to me with all of this is that there were no signs. [Campuzano] was well-liked, a completely sweet boyfriend to me. We hardly argued. There were no signs other than that he didn’t like Milo and I just summed that up to the fact that he wasn’t a dog person. He was a perfect boyfriend, that’s what makes this so much scarier.”
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When Milo died, Campuzano was a full-time law enforcement officer with the Bartow Police Department but is no longer a member of that department.
Campuzano has been charged with aggravated cruelty to animals.
“Those who wear the badge are held to a higher standard, and when someone falls short of that responsibility, it reflects a serious failure of the values we are sworn to uphold,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister in a news release on the crime. “This innocent animal deserved care and protection, and the trust placed in him as a partner makes this loss all the more senseless.”
If you know of or suspect animal abuse or neglect, you are urged to contact the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals through their website or call your local animal control officer.
