00:00A DeLand man is now facing animal cruelty charges after police say he left his dogs inside a hot truck
00:06for hours.
00:07Both of the dogs died. Only West Shoes' Patrick Perez talked with the couple who called 911. He's live in
00:13DeLand tonight. Patrick.
00:17And Jesse, that truck is actually still parked here near this Walmart on Woodland Boulevard.
00:22That couple I spoke with tells me they saw one of the dogs here in the driver's seat panting.
00:26Their owner was nowhere to be found, and that's when they called police.
00:34That's 61-year-old David Mickley in tears as his two dogs lie beside him in desperate need of help.
00:40He was really showing signs of heat exhaustion.
00:44Bernie and his wife Pat called police Monday afternoon after buying groceries at this Walmart in DeLand off Woodland Boulevard.
00:51They noticed the dogs inside this white pickup truck had been left unattended for more than an hour.
00:56At least one of them was still showing signs of life.
00:58Panning and climbing on the steering wheel. It's sad when you see a dog stressed out like that.
01:07When police showed up, they found their suspect in the nearby woods.
01:10According to his arrest report, he told an officer he was drinking by his truck and then came over to
01:16the wooded area to take a nap.
01:17When the officer asked him how long the dogs had been left unattended, he told police he did not know
01:23and that it has been a couple of hours.
01:25Help my dog. Help is coming for your dog, okay?
01:30Please help my dog.
01:32Police say both dogs ended up dying.
01:34Of that where the dogs were taken, told officers one dog had an internal temperature of 109 degrees and the
01:41symptoms of a heat stroke.
01:42You see an animal suffering, natural instinct is to help it, you know, and with what laws we got now,
01:52you don't know what to do.
01:58And police believe that man was under the influence of alcohol.
02:01He is now facing two counts of animal cruelty.
02:04He remains in jail tonight with a $10,000 bond.
02:08Covering Volusia County, live in the land tonight, I'm Patrick Perez, West 2 News.
02:11Mike Perez, W viens
02:11Mike Perez, Wien
02:11Mike Perez specialist in US
02:11Mike Perez, Wien
