Bad Parenting Indeed! Parents Arrested After 10-year-old Girl Spotted In Cage In Back Of Pickup Truck[VIDEO]

Motorists spotted a 10-year-old girl riding in a dog cage in the back of the family pickup truck.  Around 7pm Monday on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, just outside Pittsburgh, onlookers were terrified that the girl in a cage could be in trouble and contacting police.

Witnesses told police they spotted the 10-year-old riding in the back of a pickup in a dog cage.

The girl's mother and stepfather are charged with endangering the welfare of a child. The parents reportedly told police that their 10-year-girl wanted to be in the back of the truck with the dog in the cage. Should a 10-year-old be left to make dangerous decisions like that? Absolutely not. Bad parenting.

Abbey Carlson and Thomas Fishinger were arraigned Tuesday morning and released on their own recognizance. They are due back in court June 6 for a preliminary hearing.

The arrest came after a motorist driving eastbound on the turnpike called state police just after 7pm to report seeing a girl caged along with a small dog in the bed of a passing pickup truck.

Troopers received a second 911 call from another motorist a few minutes later.

The Good Samaritans were able to provide a description and license plate of the vehicle, which helped troopers track the family down.

Fishinger, who was driving the truck, told arresting officers during questioning that they were on their way home after spending Memorial Day weekend at his mother's home in Beaver County

According to Carlson's Facebook page, the family have at least two mixed breed dogs.

In three of the photos posted on the page, a girl believed to be the couple's daughter is pictured playing in the snow with a gate separating her from one of the dogs.

On May 8, the 29-year-old mother posted on her Facebook page :'Daughter: A Daughter may outgrow you lap, but she will never outgrow your heart.'

For Fishinger, the Monday night arrest comes less than a week after he was taken into custody and charged with 18 counts of identity theft and access device fraud. He was released from jail Friday on $5,000 bail.