Fla hospital worker arrested after security finds dead dog inside car
CLEARWATER, Fla. January 1 2020— A hospital worker was arrested Monday night after his dog was found dead inside his vehicle, which police said had been left inside for hours.
Jeffrey Hazen, 38, is accused of leaving his dog and cat inside his vehicle while he was at work Monday afternoon.
Clearwater Police have not said at which hospital Hazen works.
According to investigators, Hazen told officers he had driven from Georgia to Clearwater with the animals and went straight to work. He said he had recently moved to the area and had been living out of his vehicle.
Police say Hazen went back to work after discovering the dog had died without reporting what happened.
Hazen told officers he had left his car running and air conditioning on and locked the doors when he began his shift Monday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. Temperatures that day reached the upper 70s with high humidity.
According to the arrest report, when Hazen went to check on the animals around 7:30 p.m., he found his car was shut off and his 2-year-old dog named Biscuit was dead inside.
Authorities say Hazen went back to work and did not report the dog’s death to police or animal control.
It was a hospital security worker who called police, the report stated.
Pinellas County Animal Control workers were also called to collect the cat that was found severely dehydrated.
Hazen was booked into the Pinellas County jail on a felony animal cruelty charge.
