Puppy dies after being locked in hot car. Florida Keys man arrested for animal cruelty

A Florida Keys man was arrested on an animal cruelty charge this week after Monroe County deputies say a puppy died while locked inside a sweltering car on his property.

The sheriff’s office said in a press release that the 5-month-old chocolate Labrador retriever named “Jasmine” was in the car on Aviation Boulevard for several hours with no food or water and eventually died.

Deputies arrested Edmund Christopher James, 69, Tuesday after they and animal control officers went to his property to investigate “potentially dangerous living conditions” following word of the dog’s death, said Adam Linhardt, a sheriff’s office spokesman.

Deputies had previously warned James to improve living conditions at his property, “which were deplorable, with abundant rotting food, exposed human/animal waste and garbage left strewn about, creating an unhealthy environment,” Linhardt added in a statement.

James, who could not be reached for comment, was released later Tuesday on a bond of $7,500, according to Monroe County jail records. Information on his legal representation was not immediately available.