A teacher at a Fort Myers charter school faces animal cruelty charges after authorities said he kept a Staffordshire Terrier in a hot car trunk while he was at school.
A Lee County Domestic Animal Services report says two students saw a man take the puppy out of the car Friday morning. He took it on a walk and then put it back in the trunk.
The report says the students notified Gateway Charter High School officials who determined the car belonged to Mathew Emans. He was asked to open the trunk and officials found the 4-month-old puppy inside.
The agency took custody of the puppy, which was panting and in need of water.
Emans told officials he was keeping the dog in the trunk for a few hours while he was at school.
Investigators said the temperature in the vehicle was about 152 degrees and about 97 degrees in the trunk, according to the Fort Myers News-Press.
Source: Associated Press
