- Missouri, USA -
The Springfield Police Department arrested 30-year-old MACEY MICHELLE CASTEEL (pictured).
On the early morning of Sunday, July 14, 2024, Greene County Dispatch received a 911 call about several dogs who were inside a white Toyota Corolla in a parking lot. The caller advised the dogs had been in the vehicle for at least three hours unattended.
Three hours after the call, an officer with the Springfield Police Department checked on the dogs, and according to the affidavit, the officer “deemed them not in distress and Springfield Animal Control would not respond.” The officer then rescheduled the call for 9:00 a.m.
At 9:39 a.m. another officer went to check on the dogs and saw significant condensation on the inside. The officer observed stacks of dog crates on the back seat and reported that there were multiple dogs in each travel crate and several were whining.
The officer reported, “I could see at least one dog heavily panting inside each kennel. There appeared to be dogs inside that were not alive, as they were laying with their eyes open but not moving, and tongues hanging out of their mouths.”
When the officer was able to open the vehicle, there was heat radiating from inside and it felt “in excess of 100 degrees.”
Two of the crates were filled with young puppies, which were piled on top of each other. Only six of the twelve puppies inside the crates were breathing and only one was able to sit up. They were hot and their fur was matted with moisture. Another dog was found hiding under the passenger's seat.
The affidavit described the puppies as 9-week-old Mini Cockapoos.
As the officer was on scene, CASTEEL arrived and asked the officer: “Are my puppies OK?”
CASTEEL confirmed the puppies were hers and she was placed under arrest. She told the officer that sometime during the night she went to a friend’s house and that only at 4:00 a.m. she remembered the puppies were still in the car. CASTEEL claimed she asked her friend to drive her to her car but the friend refused and she fell back asleep. When she woke up, she walked back to her vehicle. CASTEEL went on to tell the officer that she was traveling to Oklahoma to sell the puppies.
Animal Control responded to the scene and took the furvictims to the Emergency Vet Clinic where several of them sadly had to be euthanized due to heat related illness. Only three of the thirteen puppies survived. According to the affidavit, “In the vehicle, the dogs had no access to water, food, or fresh air.”
CASTEEL was booked into the Greene County Jail on 13 counts of animal abuse and bond was set at $10,000. She has since been released.
Court records show that CASTEEL is scheduled to appear at Greene County Circuit Court on September 3, 2024, at 9:30 a.m.
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Voice For Us Disclaimer: This story is sourced from the Probable Cause Affidavit.
Please note that details may be removed or new information added should updates become available.
In the case of charges being dropped, dismissed, or the case being purged, this article will be rectified accordingly, if official documentation is provided to Voice For Us.
CASTEEL’s mugshot provided to Voice For Us by the Springfield Police Department.
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