Two women have been arrested on animal cruelty charges related to the deaths of their three dogs.
San Antonio police took Brittany Urquidez, 31, and Kristine Urquidez, 35, into custody Wednesday afternoon.
A police report says officers found the pair passed out and intoxicated inside a pickup in the parking lot of a North Side storage facility.
>>READ MORE: Two women arrested after 3 dogs found dead in box truck at North Side storage facility, SAPD says
It says someone had called police to the business, on Blanco Road near Lockhill-Selma, out of concern for the women who had been asleep for at least two hours.
As officers were investigating, they say they found out that the suspects’ dogs were inside a moving truck parked nearby with blankets covering its windows.
The vehicle was turned off and did not have an air conditioner running, the report says.
It says police could see one dog inside the cab of the moving truck, but it did not appear to be moving.
Once the officer opened the door, the report says, he was hit by an odor, then noticed three dead dogs inside the vehicle.
“That’s horrible. I mean, you got to make sure if you’re a pet owner that you care for them like you care for children,” said Anthony Norris, who rents office space at the storage facility.
Norris also happens to be a dog owner who regularly brings his pet to work.
He said he would never dream about leaving the animal in a hot car.
“Especially in Texas ‘cause it only takes a couple of seconds for your car to overheat,” Norris said.
The moving truck, a rental, remained in the parking lot of the storage facility Friday morning with paperwork related to a search warrant taped to its side.
The document spelled out some details in the case, including a description of the dogs.
It said there was one white American Staffordshire Terrier, one gray American Staffordshire Terrier and one Australian Cattle Dog blend.
The separate report that SAPD shared with KSAT 12 News filled in other details of the case.
It said that Kristine Urquidez, whom officers found passed out behind the wheel, was not able to pass a sobriety field test.
She faces an additional charge of driving while intoxicated.
Brittany Urquidez, meanwhile, was so intoxicated that she was unable to stay awake, the report says.
She has been charged with public intoxication.
“The dog owners, I mean, they probably shouldn’t be able to have pets again,” Norris said, in the wake of the situation.
This is at least the second case like this in recent months.
KSAT 12 News reported on a similar arrest of a man in Northeast Bexar County in August.
He was accused of leaving his dogs inside a hot car while he passed out from alcohol inside his home.
Those dogs also died.
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