Florida man accused of leaving daughter’s 3 dogs to die in hot car

CANTONMENT, Fla. — A Florida man is accused of intentionally leaving his daughter’s three dogs in a hot car, where they died from the heat, authorities said.

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Felton Charles Henderson, 72, of Cantonment, was arrested Thursday and charged with animal cruelty, according to Escambia County Sheriff’s Office online booking records.

During a news conference, Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons said the woman left the dogs in her father’s care when she went out of town, the Pensacola News Journal reported.

“She left water, she left food, everything that would be needed to take care of these dogs,” Simmons said. “When she returned after a couple of days, she asked where her dogs were.”

According to the sheriff’s office, Henderson led his daughter to a vehicle and pulled out the corpses of the three animals, WEAR-TV reported.

“He opens the doors and he pulls out three dead dogs from that Toyota Camry,” Simmons said during the news conference. “It is apparent that all he did was lock these dogs in today’s heat, yesterday’s heat, the day before yesterday. He put these dogs in this blue Toyota Camry, knowing full well that they would not survive.”

Simmons did not speak about any possible motives for Henderson’s alleged actions, the News Journal reported.

“So (the) bottom line is this is no way to treat an animal,” Simmons said. “They rely on you to give them the care and concern and you did none of that. So you will go to jail for animal cruelty.”

Henderson was booked into the Escambia County Jail and bail was set at $45,000, according to online booking records.

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