Woman charged after puppies died in hot car outside Springfield bar

A Hickory County woman was charged after 10 of the 13 miniature Cockapoo puppies she was transporting either died or had to be euthanized after being left in a hot vehicle Sunday.

Macey Casteel, 30, who lives 50 miles north of Springfield in Pittsburg, Missouri, was charged with 13 counts of animal abuse. She was arrested and booked into the Greene County Jail before noon Sunday with a bond set at $10,000. She has since been released.

According to court documents used to charge Casteel, a 911 call at 3:17 a.m. Sunday reported dogs inside a white Toyota Corolla in a parking lot outside a bar and that they had been unattended for at least three hours.

Three hours later, a Springfield police officer checked on the dogs but determined they were not in distress. At that time, Springfield Animal Control would not respond, according to a probable cause statement.

The officer scheduled a follow-up call to check on the dogs at 9 a.m.

An officer conducted a follow-up at 9:39 a.m. and observed stacks of dog crates on the back seat and significant condensation on the inside. There were multiple dogs in each travel crate and several were whining.

According to court documents, the officer observed dogs that did not appear to be alive. They were lying with their eyes open but not moving, with tongues hanging out.

The officer said once the car was open, there was heat radiating from inside and it felt "in excess of 100 degrees."

Two of the crates were filled with young puppies, which were piled on top of each other. Only six of the 12 puppies inside the crates were breathing and only one was able to sit up. They were hot and their fur was matted with moisture.

Another dog was found hiding under the passenger's seat.

As the officer was on scene, Casteel approached and asked, "Are my puppies OK?" She was arrested in connection with animal abuse.

According to court documents, Casteel said she was traveling to Oklahoma to sell the puppies, which were born nine weeks ago.

She told the officer she arrived at a Springfield destination at 1:30 a.m. and initially left her car running to keep the puppies cool but at some point during the night went to a friend's house.

Casteel told the officer that at 4 a.m. she remembered the dogs were still in the car and asked for a ride to the car, but the friend refused, so she fell back asleep.

She said when she woke up Sunday, she walked to the bar and found police surrounding her vehicle.

According to court documents, the puppies had no access to water, food or fresh air.

Springfield Animal Control transported the puppies that were still alive to an emergency vet clinic, where several had to be euthanized due to heat-related illness. Only three survived.

If convicted of each misdemeanor count, Casteel faces up to one year in jail or a fine of up to $2,000.