Wendell Joyner's home was filled with smoke when firefighters responded but he kept going back inside to try to save his three dogs, Yahoo News reported. Joyner, 58, was tackled by deputies after he grabbed a firefighter's ax and threw it through the front window in an attempt to get in to save the dogs.

Joyner said that he was roughed up by deputies, leaving him with a bloodied face, while Brevard County sheriff’s spokesman David Jacobs said the deputies suspected him of being intoxicated and were concerned about what he would do with the ax.

"My defense is — I was trying to save my dogs," Joyner told a local news station. He was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

About the Author

Featured

People join a rally in support for U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees on Tuesday afternoon, April 1, 2025, at the Atlanta headquarters after federal cuts triggered significant layoffs. (Photo: Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Credit: Jenni Girtman