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Dog dies in hot car; man is charged

The owner said he ran off after spotting deputies he thought might be looking for him. When he returned a few hours later, the dog was dead.

LARGO - James Coveney later told investigators that he saw a squad car pull into his mobile home park. Fearing that a deputy may be looking for him, Coveney took off running.

He left his 11-year-old golden retriever, Mickey, inside his Jeep Cherokee. The engine was off. The windows were closed. It was near noon. It was around 90 degrees.

Coveney didn't return to his Jeep for about three hours. When he did, he found Mickey dead inside, deputies said.

Coveney, 52, was arrested Friday on a charge of animal cruelty. He was released from the Pinellas County Jail after posting $5,000 bail.

He could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Sheriff's officials said Coveney had no reason to run from the squad car and leave Mickey behind. There were no known active warrants out for his arrest and no immediate reason to arrest him, said Sgt. Tim Goodman, a sheriff's office spokesman.

"I don't know what he was scared of," Goodman said. "He just said he didn't want to have contact with the police for some reason."

Coveney told deputies he took his dog's body out of his Jeep and laid it on the ground, then started drinking. A resident at his mobile home park, 2098 Seminole Blvd., saw the dead dog and told a maintenance man, sheriff's reports state.

An SPCA official responded to the park and deputies were called.

Coveney first told deputies that the dog had been run over by a black Bronco, but the dog had suffered no traumatic injuries. When confronted with the inconsistency in his story, Coveney admitted to leaving the dog in the Jeep, Goodman said.