Deputies say a Spring Hill man left two dogs in a hot car while he went inside a Crystal River department store.

David J. Meyer, 49, is facing charges of cruelty to animals in connection with the incident, which happened Sunday afternoon in the parking lot of the Bealls Outlet store on Suncoast Boulevard in Crystal River.

According to the Citrus County Sheriff's Office, a deputy responded to the store's parking lot after receiving a call about two dogs that were left unattended inside a white Buick SUV.

Deputies said witnesses had reported seeing the dogs in the SUV at 2:30 p.m. and then again at 3 p.m.  The deputy said the dogs were still in the SUV at 3:13 p.m., and that the window was cracked about an inch while the sunroof was open one to two inches.  The deputy said he did not see any water left inside the SUV for the dogs.

The deputy ran the tags for the car and identified Meyer as the registered owner of the vehicle. Deputies said that when the store employees called him over the intercom, he was checking out.

Meyer went outside and spoke to the deputy, who told him he could not leave his animals in a vehicle unattended. The deputy said Meyer told him he had been in the store for only five minutes, but the deputy responded that he had been on scene for longer than that.

According to the arrest affidavit, the temperature at the time was approximately 86 degrees.

Meyer was placed under arrest and given a notice to appear in court.