CLEARWATER, Fla. — A man from Georgia is facing animal cruelty charges after leaving his dog and cat inside his car for several hours on Monday.
Clearwater Police say Jeffrey Hazen, 38, left the animals in the car while he went to work at a local hospital at 2:30 p.m.
Police say Hazen found his 2-year-old dog Biscuit dead in the car around 7:30 p.m. and went back to work without calling police or animal control.
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A security worker at the hospital later called police, who called Pinellas County Animal Services. Workers responded and found the cat still in the vehicle severely dehydrated.
Police say the highs in the area on Monday were in the mid to upper 70s with high humidity.
Hazen told police he recently moved to the area from Georgia and had been living out of his car. He told police he left the car running when he went into work, but found it off when he went to check on the animals after 7 p.m.
Hazen was booked into the Pinellas County Jail where he remains as of Tuesday morning.
