A man is facing animal cruelty charges after authorities said he left six dogs in his car for more than 11 hours amid this week's blistering heat wave.
Three of the rottweilers in Carmine Dapruzzo's 1998 Ford Explorer, parked on Montauk Highway in Shirley on Tuesday morning, were dead by the time police found them, according to authorities.
The three surviving dogs were taken to Brookhaven Animal Shelter for evaluation. The pups ranged in age from 2 months old to four years old, but it's not clear how old the surviving dogs were.
Dapruzzo works at a pizzeria in the shopping center where the dogs were found. Police said he told them he left them in the car because he had nowhere else to put them.
Authorities said it's not clear if the man ever checked on the animals.
It was 81 degrees in Shirley when police said Dapruzzo left the dogs in the car; by the time officers found them, it was still 76 degrees. Authorities don't know how hot the interior of the car was, but warned that they often get much hotter than outdoor temperatures.
Dapruzzo will be arraigned at a later date; it was not immediately clear if he has an attorney who could comment on his behalf. No one at the pizzeria answered when News 4 crews knocked on the business's door Tuesday afternoon.
