Men Adopted Dog, Then Left Vest on For Months, Causing Flesh to Grow Around It

Brevard County, Florida – Two men who adopted a dog in September 2025 were arrested last week after the Brevard County Sheriff’s Department found their small dog suffering in pain with a vest that was left on his body so long that the flesh had grown around the fabric. Sheriff Wayne Ivey said Michael Borowski contacted the sheriff’s office in May to make arrangements to return the dog, whose name is Teddy.

Efforts were made to give Borowski the resources to keep the dog, but the man allegedly offered to “knock him in the head with a shovel” instead. The violent comment led to a police investigation, with a responding officer finding the dog to be in so much pain from the embedded vest that he could not be examined.

Borowski was ordered to take Teddy to a veterinarian, who ended up referring the dog to a specialty emergency center that had to surgically remove the vest from the small dog’s body.

Borowski and Guanzon were charged with animal cruelty and given a $10,000 bond. Teddy was treated and has reportedly been adopted by a veterinary tech, and he is said to be doing “great.”