SEPTEMBER 3--A 46-year-old employee wearing an inflatable dog costume outside a Florida puppy store allegedly strangled a bike-riding juvenile with whom he had an ongoing dispute, according to court records. Rodney Platthy, who works at Sunshine Puppies in Clearwater, was outside the business early Friday evening when “multiple juveniles rode by on bicycles.”At the time, Platthy--a registered sex offender--was “wearing a ‘puppy suit’ costume,” cops reported. Investigators allege that Platthy, who had previously tangled with the young riders, “waved the juveniles over to him.” Platthy was joined outside by the puppy store proprietor. He spent six years in prison for a 2013 sexual battery case that resulted in his designation as a sex offender. Platthy returned to state custody in 2022 and spent about 30 months behind bars before getting released last October.