In a parking lot off SW 8th Street Street on Sunday police say a man left a little dog inside a car. Inside the car, the temperatures soared to more than 100 degrees.
It was after church that Phil Rubin made a heartbreaking find. “It had its nose like right sticking out of the car and it was yelping,” said Rubin.
He took pictures of the small dog left in a black car. The windows were cracked open a couple of inches.
“It really really stank,” said Rubin. “It was horrible. There was urine and feces. I put a bottle of water into the opening, it just like went crazy. It was so thirsty.”
Rubin told me the dog gulped down two 16 ounce bottles of water.
“It was very hot,” said Rubin. “It was in the eighties, and in the car, it must have been way over 100.”
That’s when Rubin called 911.
“The guys from the fire department opened the door,” said Rubin.
Turns out the dog’s name is Curly. He belongs to 58-year-old Philemon Wring. He was arrested by Delray Police Sunday on an animal cruelty charge. Wring, who lives in his car, told detectives he leaves Curly inside while he’s at work. He told police he tries to check on him from time to time.
“The glass on a vehicle magnifies the temperature, so whatever temperature you think it is outside, it's hotter inside that vehicle,” said Dave Walesky, the operations manager for Animal Care and Control.
Curly is now in ACC’s care. He’s shaved and clean. A stark difference from when investigators found him with matted fur and feces.
“There are a lot of homeless people that take excellent care of their animals,” explained Walesky. “In this case, it's questionable that that's what's happening.”
Wring was cited by ACC in 2015 for several violations, including his dogs not being vaccinated and having tags. And last year, ACC responded to a complaint after a passerby reported seeing Curly left in Wring’s car.
ACC has 10 days to either resolve the case with Wring or take it to court.