McAllen police charged an Edinburg man with animal cruelty over allegations he left his puppy, a Husky breed, inside a vehicle when the temperature outside was 96 degrees.
The incident occurred Tuesday, April 5, in the Sam’s Club parking lot at 1400 E. Jackson Ave. and resulted in 34-year-old Omar Zuniga’s arrest.
The officer who arrested Zuniga said in a report that he responded to the location for a welfare concern about the dog, which he found in a green 2005 Honda Pilot.
“I observed the dog’s tongue to be out indicating it to be thirsty and a sign of dehydration,” the report stated.
The officer didn’t see water near the dog and said the front and rear passenger side windows were rolled down about an inch.
“I observed the dog to be curled under the driver seat in an attempt to get some shade from the sun,” the report stated.
The officer found an unlocked door and opened it up to check on it.
“I observed a small plastic container containing spilled water on the floor and the dog panting next to it,” the officer wrote in the report.
He then placed the dog in his patrol unit, which had its air conditioner turned on.
About an hour later, Zuniga arrived back at his vehicle and the officer asked why he left the dog unattended in the heat for an hour.
Zuniga said he left the water and windows down for the dog, according to the report.
“Omar additionally stated ‘I left the doors unlocked for the dog.’ Omar was then explained that the dog is unable to open car doors,” the report stated.
In addition to animal cruelty, police charged him with displaying fictitious license plates.
As of Monday morning, Zuniga remained in the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on a total of $4,000 in bonds.
