Hot dogs in truck mean 6 charges of animal abuse for owner
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PCSDHutchinson
A man was booked in the the Pima County Jail on Wednesday after deputies discovered six unattended dogs in his truck at a South Side motel. James Hutchinson, 65, was arrested in the incident.
Hutchinson recently had about 30 dogs removed from his home, which he signed over the to the Pima Animal Care Center.
Deputies were called to the Red Roof Inn, 3700 W. Irvington Rd., around 11:30 a.m. about the dogs. They found four canines in cages in the bed of a pickup, and two ore in the cab, a Pima County Sheriff's Department spokesman said.
The windows of the cab were rolled down about four inches, Deputy Tracy Suitt said.
"The deputies on scene checked the temperature inside one of the crates with a thermometer and it registered 102 degrees," Suitt said.
Staff from PACC were called to pick up the dogs, he said. The names and breeds of the dogs seized were not immediately available. The animals had been in the truck for up to two days.
Deputies were unable to locate the owner of the dogs until Hutchinson returned to the motel around 1:40 p.m., Suitt said.
Hutchinson was arrested and booked at the jail on six counts of cruelty to animals, the deputy said.
Arizona's animal cruelty law makes it illegal to "intentionally, knowingly or recklessly (leave) an animal unattended and confined in a motor vehicle and physical injury to or death of the animal is likely to result." Violation is a class 1 misdemeanor.
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