A Las Vegas man is accused of leaving his dog to die in a hot SUV while he argued with his “sugar momma,” according to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report.
Eric Lee Ward was arrested at Metro headquarters and booked at the Clark County Detention Center on Tuesday on suspicion of willfully or maliciously torturing or maiming an animal resulting in death, the report said.
Police said in the report that Clark County Animal Protection Services received a call from Aloha Animal Hospital, near Torrey Pines Drive and Warm Springs Road, on July 31 stating that a man had brought in a dead female husky the day before.
The man, later identified as in the report as Ward, told vet staff he left the dog in his Audi Q5 for several hours before finding her dead. The temperature in Las Vegas reached 111 on July 30, according to the National Weather Service.
Metro interviewed Ward on Tuesday, the report said. Ward told investigators he was the owner of a 10-year-old husky named Lana.
Ward told police he and a friend were taking Lana to the park when they decided to stop at a drive-thru for food, according to the report. While there, Ward called a woman named Camila West, described in the report as his “sugar momma,” and began arguing because she wanted to cancel dinner plans.
The dispute escalated and Ward pulled over in a parking lot, the report said. Ward decided to return home and not take Lana to the park.
“Eric stated the argument escalated to the parties yelling at each other and Eric started getting an anxiety attack,” the report said. “Eric stated he was so upset; he just went inside the house while still on the phone with Camila.”
Police said Ward went inside his residence at about 11 a.m., according to the report. After a couple of minutes, Ward’s friend, identified in the report as Mercedes, asked about Lana and Ward stated the dog was with a neighbor.
“This was not the case,” the report said.
Mercedes asked again where Lana was, causing Ward to look for her in the house and in the backyard, police said in the report. At about 2:20 p.m., Ward went back to his car to look for his wallet and found Lana, who was “already stiff” and had blood coming from her mouth.
A necropsy revealed heat stroke, blood clots and organ failure as Lana’s causes of death, according to the report.
“‘Lana’ was in the vehicle for hours, probably confused, while her organs shut down one by one, with no escape until she passed away,” police wrote in Ward’s arrest report. “The death of this dog was completely preventable and cruel.”
Las Vegas Justice Court records show Ward posted a $5,000 surety bond the day of his arrest. Court records show he made an initial appearance on Wednesday before Justice of the Peace Suzan Baucum and has another court appearance scheduled for Oct. 6.
An attorney is not listed on Ward’s case overview.
Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 on X.
