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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — A man was arrested in St. Petersburg after knowingly leaving a dog in a hot car for at least 30 minutes on Thursday afternoon.
According to a Pinellas County arrest affidavit, a civilian flagged down a community police deputy at 3:20 p.m. to report a dog locked inside a vehicle at the beach access park.
The deputy arrived to find the vehicle and air conditioning turned off, and all of its windows completely closed.
The deputy found the dog inside the trunk of the vehicle with no drinking water nearby.
Arrest papers said the temperature was 89°F at the time of the incident.
After 20 minutes of trying to find the vehicle’s registered owner, law enforcement broke the driver’s-side window and removed the dog from the vehicle.
Upon freeing the dog, the vehicle’s interior was hot, and the pup was visibly panting, arrest papers said. The dog immediately drank three cups of water.
The driver, identified as Nicolas Erik Francois Ligonnet, returned to the vehicle at 3:54 p.m.
Arrest papers said Ligonnet admitted to knowingly leaving the dog inside the vehicle while it was turned off.
He was arrested on one count of animal cruelty.
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