GENOA CITY — A Genoa City woman is accused of leaving four cats in a minivan for several days with limited access to food and water. She now faces several years in prison for their deaths.
62-year-old Julieane Thiel was charged with four counts of felony mistreatment of animals, one for each deceased cat. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of three and a half years in prison.
Jodi Piccone of Genoa City owns three cats. She said she was horrified when she learned about the cats inside of the minivan.
Watch: Genoa City cat owner saddened after officer discovers four dead cats inside of hot minivan
"They're not used to just sitting in cars by themselves, especially in the heat," Piccone said. "No water, no nothing. It's terrible. Your groceries aren't going to make it in a hot vehicle. Why do you think your pet is?'"
According to the criminal complaint, a Genoa City police officer responded to a 911 call to the Pebblebrook Apartments on June 23 after a passerby noticed the cats inside of the minivan not moving while the windows were closed.
The complaint states Thiel told the officer the cats were "just laying down" and admitted they had been in the car since June 21. When Thiel unlocked the car, the officer discovered four cats in their crates with no food or water dishes in the van.
The officer recorded the temperature inside the car at 90 degrees, according to the complaint.
The complaint also claims Thiel told the officer she had a camera pointed at the van to keep an eye on them, but turned off notifications because she received too many of them. It also claims Thiel told the officer she did not care about the cats in the heat.
According to the complaint, the cat's belonged to Thiel's brother, who was evicted from his apartment the same day the cats were moved to Thiel's minivan.
"They should have done better because this could have 100 percent been avoided," Piccone said. "It's not hard to keep your cats out of a hot vehicle."
Thiel will appear in court on her charges on July 2.
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