A long-time employee of the Hillsborough County, Fla., Sheriff’s Department has resigned after being charged with animal cruelty for allegedly neglecting Miniature Horses.

Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Det. Larry McKinnon said that on July 3 Dep. Pamela Belo surrendered four Miniature Horses to the RVR Horse Rescue in Riverview, Fla. At the time of the surrender and investigation, Belo was a 23-year veteran of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office assigned to the Community Outreach division, McKinnon said. She was suspended without pay and subsequently resigned, he said.

RVR Horse Rescue founder Shawn Jayroe said Belo agreed to surrender the animals after a veterinarian Belo called to euthanize a Miniature Horse that had allegedly fallen off a porch declined to do so. The veterinarian subsequently contacted RVR Horse Rescue to remove the animals, Jayroe said. Upon arrival, RVR personnel saw the other three horses, she said.

"We asked her (Belo) to release them to us," Jayroe said. "She agreed and signed the paperwork, (then) we loaded them up and called the Sheriff’s department right away