SAN ANTONIO – Three dogs that were found dead and decomposing inside a car in a busy downtown parking lot apparently went unnoticed for nearly a week.
San Antonio police believe Robert Ramirez, 34, left the dogs to die back in July.
An arrest affidavit says the pugs belonged to a friend of Ramirez who had asked him to take care of the pets if he went to jail. The friend was appearing in court that day and suspected he might be arrested.
He left Ramirez and the dogs in his car in a parking lot on South Flores, across the street from the courthouse, the affidavit says.
The friend was, in fact, sent to jail.
The affidavit says six days later, an officer found the dogs dead and decomposing inside the hot car.
The document says there was no food or water there with them.
“I mean, there could’ve been something done,” said Mary Salazar, who parked her car in the same lot on Thursday.
She wonders how the dogs went unnoticed for so long, and why someone didn’t rescue them.
“People come in and out of their cars,” Salazar said. “I mean, being next to a car that has dogs in it, somebody could have called the animal people or one of the cops in there.”
Police tracked down the dog owner in jail and questioned him.
The affidavit says he told police that Ramirez had agreed to contact someone on his behalf to take care of the animals in exchange for beer.
However, police say they found surveillance video showing Ramirez walking away from the car and leaving the dogs behind.
A warrant was issued for his arrest months ago.
Police tracked down Ramirez on Wednesday at a homeless encampment on the East side and arrested him.
He was booked into jail on animal cruelty charges.
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