SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. — An Indiana couple is accused of animal cruelty after a monkey was found dead inside a car Wednesday at an eastern Tennessee waterpark.
Nova Brettell, 54, of Warsaw, was charged with aggravated animal cruelty, and David Paul Brettell, 54, of Warsaw, was been charged with animal cruelty, WATE-TV reported.
Police responded to a call at about 4:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday at Soaky Mountain Waterpark in Sevierville, the television station reported.
Authorities found two marmoset monkeys in the car. One, a 9-week-old named Kee Kee, was dead, while a 5-week-old monkey was dehydrated, WZTV reported. According to an arrest warrant, Kee Kee was being cradled by Nova Brettell, the television station reported.
The temperature at the waterpark was about 87 degrees, according to WZTV. According to ASPCA.org, vehicle interior temperature in the summer can rise from 85 degrees to 120 degrees within 30 minutes.
The surviving monkey was taken to an animal hospital in Morristown for treatment, WATE reported.
“He’s making some slow progress at this time but he’s not out of the woods yet,” Dr. Larry Mangum, the head veterinarian at Appalachian Animal Hospital, told the television station. “We are hopeful that he will be able to make it and pull through. Right now he’s making progress and doing well.”