Woman 'starved her dogs so badly, mother pitbull was forced to eat the remains of her dead puppy'

A Florida woman has been arrested after allegedly neglecting her dogs so badly that a mother pitbull and her children were eating the remains of a dead puppy.

Marangillette Viera-Rivera, 33, was taken into custody on Tuesday in Tampa after police found that seven 6-week-old puppies and their mother had been kept outside with no food, water or shelter from the heat.

Hillsborough County Animal Services took possession of the surviving pitbulls, as well as a Chihuahua puppy found inside the suspect's apartment.

Police arrived at the apartment after someone reported seeing the dead puppy's body.

Hillsborough County Police spokesman Larry McKinnon told Daily Mail Online that the puppies were 'very lethargic... almost lifeless' when they were taken away from Viera-Rivera.

'All of them were on the verge of meeting their demise,' he said.

Scott Trebatoski, director of Hillsborough County Pet Resources, told Daily Mail Online that the pitbulls all had bacterial skin infections.

All of the dogs, including the Chihuahua, were found with parasites that likely contributed to their lack of nutrition.

The Pet Resources said that although cannibalism 'is not terribly uncommon for cats', it is rare to see dogs driven to eat a young six-week-old pup.

Pictures available from WFLA show that the puppies and their mother Duchess are now recovering after animal workers gave them water, food and shelter.

Viera-Rivera was said to have had a large bag of dog food in her apartment, but the nourishment had not recently made it down to the canines in the yard.

Trebatoski said that a combination of lack of food and severe weather conditions likely led to the dogs' myriad medical problems.

McKinnon said that the dogs had spent 'at least a day or so' without water.

However, the animals could have died given a lack of water and exposure to heat indices in the Tampa area that have been around 100 this week.

All the dogs are now in possession of the Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center.

Officials plan to put them up for adoption in four weeks, after they fully recover and are old enough to be spayed and neutered.

Trebatoski said that although pitbulls have a reputation for aggression, the mother dog is 'the sweetest' despite suffering abuse.

He also hopes that the dogs 'probably aren't going to have any memory of this' after being given to loving homes.

Hillsborough County jail records show that Viera-Rivera was being held without bond as of Wednesday afternoon.

She was also charged with felony probation violation.

The suspect said that she had not been at home recently because she was doing community service for a cocaine possession sentence, McKinnon told Daily Mail Online.

She had also previously been arrested of assault with a deadly weapon, battery, DUI and other drug offenses.

Aggravated animal cruelty is a felony and punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The less cruelty counts are first degree misdemeanors and punishable by up to a year in prison and $5,000.

After evaluating the surviving puppies, veterinarians are currently looking into what happened to the dead one.