Man who left his puppies in hot car at Disney Springs blamed slow restaurant service for his actions

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office has released an arrest warrant affidavit on animal cruelty charges after a Puerto Rican man was accused of leaving his four puppies in his hot car while he ate dinner with his family at Disney Springs.

Wilson Nieves Cortes, 39, blamed Disney Springs’ lack of fast-food restaurants for why he left his puppies behind in the parking garage, the affidavit said.

The affidavit found probable cause that Nieves Cortes, 39, committed four charges of animal cruelty.

One of the dogs had to be euthanized; three survived and appeared to be OK, playing with officials.

“Should the arrest warrant be granted, I am requesting no bond be granted and the defendant be extradited nationwide due to the fact that the defendant is known to have returned to Puerto Rico immediately following this incident,” the arrest warrant affidavit said.

The State Attorney’s Office, which makes the decision to prosecute crimes, did not have any public records on the case when Florida Politics requested them Tuesday.

Law enforcement officers were called out May 4 to the Lime Parking Garage at the popular Disney Springs shopping and restaurant complex. Somebody heard the barking from the four three-month-old puppies left in the back of a black Mazda CX-5 with the four windows slightly cracked, the affidavit said.

The affidavit contained heartbreaking details about the puppy that died.

One puppy was “found inside of a soft collapsible crate, confined and compressed underneath clothing and other suitcase bags. The puppy was in severe distress with a respiratory rate of more than 100 breaths per minute and a heart rate of more than 300 beats per minute. The puppy was also hot to the touch and covered in her own saliva from panting. The puppy also had a flattened appearance from the confined area she was found in,” the affidavit said.

“(The puppy was) lifeless in appearance, completely limp in his arms, and extremely hot to touch despite being doused in water already.”

The puppy was put on a stretcher and taken to the Animal Kingdom Animal Hospital by first-responders from Disney’s Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. The puppy later was euthanized after authorities said the dog was in critical condition.

“The defendant showed no signs of concern for the animals and never asked about the puppy they had transported to Animal Kingdom,” the affidavit said. “He further stated that the defendant left the scene once he was told that the puppies were not going to be released to him.”

On May 4, the Orlando International Airport station reported temperatures at 77 degrees with 77% relative humidity. The heat index was about 78 degrees, according to historic weather data provided by the National Centers for Environmental Information at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Earlier that day, Wilson had arrived in Florida to buy the Bernese Mountain Dog, Poodle, and Australian Shepherd mix dogs.  

“Wilson stated he walked inside to find a ‘fast food’ ‘to go’ style restaurant due to the dogs being in the vehicle. Wilson stated he walked around Disney Springs and noticed mostly all of the establishments were restaurants and his intention was to not sit down anywhere and eat. Wilson stated he located Blaze pizza at which time he waited in line for a short period of time,” the affidavit said.

“Wilson stated when he noticed the line was not moving fast enough he decided to leave Disney Springs and walk back to his vehicle. Wilson stated he parked inside of the parking garage intentionally due to there being plenty of shade and it not being hot for the puppies. Wilson advised he cracked all four windows on the vehicle for the puppies and his intention was to not be on property long, due to them having a flight tonight back to Puerto Rico.”