Man, 20, and woman, 19, charged with animal cruelty after a small pig is found ‘foaming at the mouth’ in a car where temperatures had reached ‘over 100 F and the air conditioning was off’
- Mark Gray and Trinity Tavarez-Soto have been arrested and charged with animal cruelty after a pig was found in a boiling hot car on Memorial Day
- The pig was rescued by police from the back seat of the vehicle and given water
- A witness who filmed the animal and reported the matter to police said the car’s windows were open a tiny crack and no air conditioning was on in the vehicle
- It was reported that temperatures in the area of the mall had exceeded 100 F on the hottest Memorial Day since 1989
- The pig is in the custody of Animal Care and Protective Services
A Florida couple are facing animal cruelty charges after a pig was left in a sweltering car with no air conditioning, food or water outside a shopping mall.
Twenty-year-old Mark Gray and 19-year-old Trinity Tavarez-Soto were arrested on Monday afternoon outside Avenues Mall in Southside Boulevard, Jacksonville, Florida, where they had been shopping.
According to an arrest report, the pig, described as multicolored, was found in the backseat of the car, on the floor.
Photos show the seat as covered with a number of items.
The pig was found in the back seat of the car, on the floor, the seat itself was covered in numerous items
Miranda Lamendola and her co-worker had spotted the pig and reported the matter to mall security, as reported by CBS-affiliate News 4 Jax.
As security wasn’t authorized to access the car without the owner’s permission, Lamendola called 911.
‘The pig has no water, has no food and he’s freaking out,’ she told News 4 Jax, adding: ‘I’m freaking out after 45 minutes of this whole process.’
A couple, Mark Gray, 20, and Trinity Tavarez-Soto, 19, both of Jacksonville are each charged with animal cruelty
Lamendola said the air conditioning wasn’t on in the car and the windows had around an inch cracked at the top.
The gap was so small, she said, she couldn’t get her arm through the space to help the stricken animal.
Lamendola was filming the pig, which is shown to have orange hair and brown markings, when it began foaming at the mouth, shaking and started to become unresponsive.
A photo shows an officer cradling the pig, which is described as having pink skin, orange hair and brown markings, following his rescue
It was reported that temperatures in the area of the mall exceeded 100 F on the hottest Memorial Day since 1989.
Lamendola told the station that the car had hit 120 F in the shade.
When police arrived at the scene, one of the officers broke a window.
The pig was removed from the vehicle and was given water to drink and began to recuperate.
Miranda Lamendola (pictured above) and her co-worker spotted the pig in the mall parking lot and called police
A photo shows an officer cradling the pig following his rescue
It is thought the pig had been in the hot car for more than a hour.
He was taken by Animal Care and Protective Services.