Officers Arrest Penn. Couple Caught Driving With Girl In Cage On Back Of Pick-Up Truck

NEW YORK (WLNY) -- Imagine driving along the West Side High or the FDR and seeing a kid in the back of a pick-up truck -- inside of a crate.

It happened in Pennsylvania -- and the girls' parents are now facing serious charges.

TV 10-55's Alex Denis was at Penn Station this morning, where folks had a lot to say about the story.

Abbey Carlson, 29, and Thomas Fishinger, 30, said Carlson's 10-year-old daughter climbed into a cage in the back of their pick-up truck after her dog began making a fuss while on the road.

They pulled over and let the little girl in the wire pen -- in the back of the family's truck -- and then got on the highway.

"I didn't want the dog to suffer," said Fishinger. "That's like animal cruelty to me."

Police sent out a notice after someone reported seeing the girl in the cage. Officers arrested the couple at their home near PIttsburgh. Both face felony counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

They said they put two straps in the back of the truck, like a seat belt, holding the cage down.

Straps or no straps -- the two now realize what they did was a mistake.