Georgia: Veterinarian Keith Purcell sat inside Mellow Mushroom Restaurant while his dog was being cooked inside his pickup truck

GEORGIA -- Pooler Veterinarian Keith Purcell was arrested on an animal cruelty charges Friday evening.

Purcell left his dog -- not just inside his truck but -- locked inside a crate in the back seat of his pick-up truck while temperatures reached 92 degrees with a heat index of 102.

According to a witness, Purcell was eating dinner at Mellow Mushroom when Pooler Fire Rescue arrived trying to get the dog out of the vehicle.

Moments later servers began to ask whose car it was before he admitted it belonged to him.

Purcell was arrested and charged with Animal Cruelty.

“In 10 minutes you can see the temp rising 15-20 degrees above normal and so their temperature is already increasing even in that short period of time,” Associate Veterinarian Michael Brown said.

The risks are the pet’s potentially experiencing heat stroke or heat exhaustion.

ARREST INFO:
Full Name: Keith Lyndal Purcell
Gender: Male
Race: White
Birthdate: 05/27/1959
Arrest Age: 58
Arrest Date: 07/07/2017
Arrest Time: 9:10 PM
Arresting Agency: POOLER PD
Total Bond: $1300
Charges
#1 CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
STATUTE: 16-12-4 (M)

 

(WSAV - July 10, 2017)