Man left puppy in hot car for hours at Las Vegas casino
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A cold-hearted California man abandoned his puppy in a sweltering car outside a Las Vegas casino with its mouth taped shut for nearly two hours, police said.
Raul Carbajal, 50, of Corona Del Mar, was busted on July 20 after security staffers spotted the 3-month-old husky trapped inside a locked car on the top floor of the parking garage of the Bellagio hotel as temps peaked that day at 113 degrees, Las Vegas police said Thursday.
Video released by the department shows cops slapping handcuffs on Carbajal as he returned to his Mercedes, where the dog had been locked for nearly two hours in the hot afternoon sun. The temperature inside the vehicle reached 108 degrees, police said.
“You realize how hot it is outside?” one cop asked Carbajal, the clip shows. “You had the vehicle off, windows up and you had tape around your dog’s mouth.”
The puppy remains in custody of animal control officials and is still receiving medical treatment nearly 10 days later, police said.
Security at the casino managed to get the dog out of the Mercedes via its sunroof.
“Through our investigation, we discovered the dog had been in the car for nearly two hours without air conditioning, food or water while the vehicle owner went inside to gamble,” Las Vegas police said in a statement.
Carbajal has been charged with willful, malicious torture of an animal. It’s unclear if he’s hired an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
The puppy’s mouth had been secured shut with medical tape, according to a police report obtained by the Los Angeles Times.
The top level of the parking garage had “no protection from the sun and is in direct sunlight,” police said in the report.
Carbajal, who has been released after posting bond, is due back in court next week, KLAS reported.
“The safety and wellness of our employees and guests is always a top priority – pets included,” a spokesperson for MGM Resorts, which owns the Bellagio, told the station. “We commend our guest for taking action and notifying the Bellagio security team, who was quick to respond and make the rescue.”
