Six pets die, locked in hot SUV while family was in shopping mall Lebanon, TN (US) Incident Date: Tuesday, Aug 19, 2003 County: Wilson Local Map: available Disposition: Alleged Alleged: Steven Carvotta

Case ID: 1695 Classification: Neglect / Abandonment Animal: cat, dog (non pit-bull), rodent/small mammal (pet) View more cases in TN (US) Login to Watch this Case

Three cats can thank a wary passer-by for saving their lives. But six of their fellow animals were not as lucky after being locked in a hot SUV. The driver of the car was jailed in Wilson County, while his daughters tried to figure out why their father would face criminal charges in the heat-related deaths of six family pets.

When the Carvotta family crowded into a small SUV for a cross-country move to California, they never dreamed their trek would end like this. The pets were like family, the Carvottas said.

Lebanon Police Cpl. Travis Fakes said, "There were approximately four dogs, one rat, one ferrett and three cats."

"Unbelievable that somebody could actually do that. My animals are my family, so... [it's] about like doing that to a family member," said Duane Pride, one of the people who rescued the animals.

The family said that they were at the Prime Outlets mall for one hour. One teenaged daughter even returned to the van after 20 minutes and fired up the air conditioner. But that wasn't enough to spare the animals. Three surviving cats are being cared for at a Lebanon veterinary clinic.

Veterinarian Amy Hastings said, "What we wait for now is to see if the cats will survive from having temperatures upwards of 107 degrees."

At last check, one of the cats was in a critical stage, while the other two are stable. The family insisted that food and water were readily available to the animals, and that Steven Carvotta loves his pets like his own children. Mrs. Carvotta said that it should've been her arrested, instead of her husband. Steven Carvotta is at the Wilson County Jail, where he faces nine counts of animal cruelty. He will more than likely be eligible to make bail.

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