Former Bartow police officer accused of poisoning his girlfriend's Maltese poodle

Former police officer accused of poisoning dog

A former Bartow police officer was arrested after deputies say he poisoned his girlfriend’s dog. FOX 13’s Evan Axelbank reports

TAMPA - A former Bartow police officer has been arrested for poisoning his girlfriend's dog because he did not like the pet, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies say that Edwin Campuzano, 22, killed the 3-year-old Maltese poodle named Milo, by adding poison pellets to the dog's food bowl while his girlfriend, Paula Fernandez, was on a trip.

The backstory:

Fernandez says on May 30, 2025, she received a call from her neighbor that Milo had been found dead inside their home.

"I’ll never forget that call. I’ll never forget that day. 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," Fernandez said.

The family had been gone for about a week, according to Fernandez. When they returned, they walked into an empty house — and a heartbreaking scene.

"By the time we got back to the house, we came home to an empty house when we should’ve come home to Milo greeting us. In addition to that, there was blood by the floor, by the door, that we had to clean up because he was vomiting," Fernandez said.

Later that day, Fernandez says Campuzano bought flowers for her mourning family.

"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," Fernandez said.

Dig deeper:

Investigators honed in on a debit card purchase that showed Campuzano bought poison from Tractor Supply two days before the dog's death.

During the investigation, Fernandez says she took Milo to a veterinarian for a necropsy, seeking closure on how he died.

"Our victim who’s parent became an investigator, she went to the veterinarian. She asked them to perform a necropsy. She wanted to know why and how they died and that’s when it was revealed that it bled to death as a result of being poisoned," HCSO Sheriff Chad Chronister said.

The incident was not reported to the sheriff's office until December 2025.

Once an arrest warrant was obtained on January 16, Campuzano decided to turn himself in.

Courtesy: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Campuzano was a full-time law enforcement officer with the Bartow Police Department at the time of the incident, but he is no longer employed. HCSO says he was preparing for a new opportunity with the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

What they're saying:

"I assure you, knowing my good friend Sheriff Grady Judd, there is no longer a start date at the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. This badge that we wear doesn’t protect us from wrongdoing. It holds us to a higher standard of accountability," Sheriff Chad Chronister said.

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Campuzano has been charged with aggravated cruelty to animals.