DELAND, Fla. – A man was arrested on animal cruelty charges in Volusia County after police say two dogs, left in a truck for hours in a Walmart parking lot, died of apparent heat stroke.
Police arrested David Micale, 61, on Monday at the Walmart on Woodland Boulevard.
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Police say witnesses saw the dogs inside the truck when they walked into the store, and a man near the truck who was stumbling into a wooded area next to the parking lot. When they came out two hours later, police say the dogs were still inside the vehicle, but the owner was nowhere to be seen.
According to the arrest affidavit, when police arrived, they noticed the windows were up and the doors were locked. One dog was seen panting in the front seat while the other was lying down in the back.
Police went into the wooded area and found Micale on the ground. Police say Micale said he had been drinking by his truck and decided to go into the woods to take a nap. They say Micale said he and the dogs had been in the parking lot since the night before.
When Micale went to pull his dogs out of the car, police say it appeared one of them was not breathing and the other was barely breathing. The dog that was still alive was taken to an emergency animal hospital, but it died on the way.
According to police, the veterinarian said the dog had an internal temperature of 109 degrees and symptoms consistent with heat stroke.
Micale was arrested and taken to jail.