Small Dog Left In Hot Car Lands Owner In Jail
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A 27-year-old woman who police say left her small dog inside her hot car while she feasted with family members at a nearby buffet restaurant, now faces one criminal count of animal cruelty.
Natalia Nieto's brown chihuahua was seen panting and in distress inside a champagne-colored Nissan Altima parked at the Sky Lake Mall on the 1700 block of NE Miami Gardens Drive Wednesday afternoon, according to the arrest report. The witness who called police said he saw the dog inside the car for at least 25 minutes.
Miami-Dade police arrived and determined the dog was in imminent distress. The officer wrote, "I observed the small dog was sitting on the front passenger seat of the vehicle panting, followed by a disoriented and fast noisy breathing."
The small dog fell on the front passenger floor board, according to the report. That's when the officer broke the passenger's front window and retrieved the dog and placed the dog inside his air-conditioned patrol car.
When confronted by police, Nieto told them she had been dining at a nearby buffet with family members and said she was very sorry.
A judge allowed Nieto to be held on house arrest until the case is resolved.
For now, the small dog is in good condition and is being treated at a local veterinarian's office.
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