Editor’s note: This article contains graphic content; viewer discretion is advised.
Wilson Nieves Cortes returned to his car at Disney Springs — where he had left his four newly bought puppies — and was confronted by Orange County Sheriff’s deputies.
“We got called here because obviously someone found the dogs. There’s a dog in the back of the ambulance that they found unresponsive, almost dead,” the deputy told Nieves Cortes in May. “What were you doing?”
Nieves Cortes initially claimed he had only been inside Disney Springs for 45 minutes — although deputies said later it was actually closer to two hours, according to the deputy’s body cam video.
The puppy left alone in the car was soaked in its own saliva and had been discovered “inside of a soft collapsible crate, confined, and compressed underneath clothing and other suitcase bags,” records showed.
The puppy was later euthanized after a veterinarian reported the animal was showing neurological issues and was in critical condition. A University of Florida necropsy said multiple organs hemorrhaged, so it appeared the dog had suffered from heat stroke.
The other three puppies survived.
The state attorney’s office recently released the body cam from the scene, photos and videos of the puppies and other records following a WDWNT public record request made about five months ago.
Nieves Cortes is scheduled to stand trial May 12. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges which are all misdemeanors except for one third-degree felony cruelty to animals charge, according to Orange Circuit Court records.
“…you must remember our client is innocent until proven guilty,” attorney Flavio Alvarez said when reached for comment.
Nieves Cortes, who is from Puerto Rico, bought the four Bernese Mountain Dog, Poodle, and Australian Shepherd mix puppies and planned to bring them back to Puerto Rico to be emotional support dogs, according to an Orange County Sheriff’s report.
Nieves Cortes had been surprised by how busy Disney Springs was when he went to get dinner and hadn’t expected it to be so crowded, an OCSO report said.
“He only assumed he would be gone for less than 20 minutes,” the report said.
A Disney Security officer on patrol heard the dogs barking and sounded the alert so a Disney World paramedic used a door lock tool to free the puppies.
Nieves Cortes reportedly parked the black Mazda in the bottom level of the Lime Garage. It was a shaded area and all four windows were slightly cracked, the records said.
The body cam footage shows deputies debating what to do — before the puppy died — as they considered animal cruelty charges or giving Nieves Cortes a citation for neglect.
The video below shows the body cam footage released by the police.
“This is a weird one. Let me tell you why,” one deputy said to another official. “This is the first time we’ve ever had one that’s in the lower level, covered in shade, rolled down the windows. But you got four of them. One of them got tangled up … and almost suffocated himself because it was like a bag with a string. And that’s the one they transported. … You guys make your own call.”
Animal Kingdom veterinarians took care of the puppy until the animal was seen by a private emergency vet. By then, the dog was getting progressively sicker and ultimately authorities said they decided to humanely euthanize the puppy, the report said.
The story doesn’t end there.
Disney World firefighters who had cooled down the puppies and helped rescue them began petitioning Orange County Animal Services to keep them from going back to Nieves Cortes.
“We are asking you to PLEASE HELP US keep the remaining three puppies away from these awful owners. They clearly had no sense of care towards these puppies,” wrote Leonardo Rojas in an email released with the other sheriff’s records.
Another, Ben Whitley wrote, “There would be a line of people on my crew alone willing to adopt these puppies and ensure that they’re brought into a loving home and well care for … My crew has a special connection to them.”
Nieves Cortes eventually surrendered the other three surviving puppies who found new homes with the firefighters from the Most Magical Place on Earth.
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