FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – Deputies on Thursday arrested two men after finding two dogs and two pigeons suffering inside the metal cargo area of a U-Haul as temperatures climbed to 102 degrees, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said.
The sheriff’s office said a caller reported seeing a dog trying to climb out of the back of a U-Haul as it traveled down the road Thursday. Deputies located the truck at a RaceTrac convenience store at 301 Palm Coast Parkway Northeast and opened the roll-up door.
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Inside, they found a 70-pound pit bull mix having difficulty standing and an English bulldog of about 80 pounds that could not stand, the office said. Both dogs were lying in their own urine and drank water deputies gave them. Animal control officers who responded determined the animals were suffering from neglect and transported them to East Coast Animal Hospital for emergency treatment.
Deputies also found two full-grown pigeons inside a closed storage box with no air holes; animal control said the birds were in distress and took them to the same veterinary clinic for care.
The driver, Angel Valdes, 70, of Miami, told deputies the dogs “just needed water,” the sheriff’s office said. He and his son, Roy Valdes Hernandez, 35, of Miami, were arrested on animal-cruelty charges and taken to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility. Both were later released on $500 bond.
The arrest reports say other adults in the group were aware the animals were being transported in the cargo area; the sheriff’s office forwarded information on two other adults to the state attorney’s office for further review.
Sheriff Rick Staly urged people not to leave animals or people in hot vehicles. “If you wouldn’t ride in a metal box in 102-degree heat with no air, don’t force an animal to do it,” he said. “Remember, if it has a heartbeat don’t leave it unattended in any vehicle, especially in the current heat wave we are having.”
Photos and body-worn camera footage from the incident were uploaded to the sheriff’s office evidence system, the agency said. The sheriff’s office credited the caller’s report with prompting the response.