A Savannah man is facing animal cruelty charges after his dog spent an hour in a hot truck, police said.

Jerry Mason, 50, was arrested in Cartersville on Monday morning during a trip from Savannah to Kentucky. Mason told officers his cocker spaniel mix was riding with him in the cab of a U-Haul truck, but the dog became unruly, police said. They said Mason pulled over and moved the dog to the back of the truck, which was packed with moving boxes, loose furniture, a lawnmower and other items.

When officers arrived, they found a concerned citizen pouring water on the dog next to the U-Haul truck. Mason told them the dog had spent an hour in the back of the truck, police said.

The dog was transportation to a nearby veterinarian for treatment of a possible heat stroke, but it died overnight.

Mason was taken to the Bartow County Jail on misdemeanor animal cruelty charges, but he bounded out Tuesday morning.

“We cannot stress enough the importance of not keeping animals locked in vehicles where there is no circulation.  Animals simply cannot tolerate the amount of heat that an enclosed area generates in this summer weather.  An animal can be in distress within minutes due to the high temperatures we have been experiencing,” Carterville Police Chief Thomas Culpepper said in a news release.