WALTON COUNTY, Fla. — A Texas man was arrested Saturday after deputies reportedly rescued a small dog trapped in a dangerously hot car near the beach.
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The Walton County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) said the incident happened on Scenic Gulf Drive after several 911 callers reported seeing a Yorkie left inside a vehicle for nearly an hour. According to the WCSO, the car was not running, and the windows were only slightly cracked.
Deputies used a lock-out kit to open the vehicle and retrieved the dog, which was given water on the scene.
A short time later, 26-year-old Andy Matute Villatoro of Houston, Texas, returned to the car from the beach and was arrested for animal cruelty.
Walton County Animal Services responded and measured the temperature inside the vehicle at 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Officials say that even on an 85-degree day, the temperature inside a parked car can reach lethal levels in under 10 minutes.
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Mr Villatoro was booked into the Walton County Jail on a $1,000 bond and remained incarcerated at the time of the sheriff’s office release.
Authorities remind the public that leaving pets in hot cars is not only dangerous but illegal.
