The following reports are but a fraction of the hundreds, even thousands, of instances where every year dogs are left in parked cars to die. A lucky few survive. (One county animal shelter reports getting three to six heat-related calls of animal cruelty or animals in distress each day.) Also, many young children die as a result of being left in parked cars in the summertime. One Web site tracked 16 toddlers and infants dead in 2008 in the span of only two months.
10/24/08, San Rafael, CA
A man on trial for stealing a Porsche was out on bail during jury deliberation when he learned that some Yorkshire terrier-Maltese hybrid puppies escaped from his Lexus SUV in the courthouse parking lot. When he dashed back to the SUV, keys in hand and expressing concern for the dogs, deputies arrested him: The SUV had been stolen in San Francisco. The escaped dogs, and a few newborns still in the SUV, were OK and were taken to a Humane Society shelter. It was unclear whose dogs they were, but they did not belong to the SUV owner. Later that afternoon, the jurors — unaware of what they had missed while deliberating — returned with a guilty verdict. On Monday, 10/27/08, the man was arraigned on new charges: possessing a stolen car (and a laptop computer also found in the SUV), plus animal cruelty. His bail was raised from $10,000 to $250,000. His attorney declined to comment. (San Francisco Chronicle)
09/03/08, Clay County, FL
When an air conditioner repairman left a fence open, Diamond, a Rottweiler, got loose. Clay County Animal Control captured Diamond, but the animal control officer left Diamond in the truck for as long as 60 minutes. When the officer reached Animal Control, he left the truck with four animals (including Diamond) inside for a meeting that lasted about 15 minutes. By the time the officer unloaded Diamond, she was dead. Animal Control trucks do not have air conditioning for the animals. The Clay County Sheriff's Office is investigating Animal Control for animal cruelty and neglect. (First Coast News)
09/01/08, Nahant, MA
State Police will summons a Salem man to court for animal cruelty after he allegedly left his Pomeranian dog inside a locked car on Labor Day in the Long Beach parking lot. The man is accused of leaving his dog Flippy inside his subcompact car around 11:30am as the temperature reached 85 degrees. The car was about to be towed for being illegally parked when the towtruck driver noticed a dog in the vehicle. All the car's windows were up and the doors locked. Troopers said the dog was fine, but took him for a short time. However, the dog was returned to the man when he called police to report his car was missing. Police said the man had left his car to go to the beach. (The Daily Item)
09/01/08, Gurnee, IL
A Chicago woman was charged with animal cruelty and neglect after leaving her dog in a car in the parking lot at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee without food or water for about six hours Monday, when temperatures reached the mid-80s. Six Flags security found the female beagle — who appeared to be in distress because of the heat — just before 4:00pm. The car had one rear window cracked open, and Gurnee police determined the dog, who was panting and barking, was in danger and removed it from the vehicle, police said. Police took the dog to the Gurnee Police Department kennel and left a tag on the vehicle telling the owner where to retrieve the animal. The owner arrived about 6:45pm and was issued a citation for animal cruelty and neglect before the dog was given back to her. (Chicago Tribune)
09/01/08,Lakewood, CO
A report of a dog left in a hot car brought police to a thrift store at 12:45pm. The officer observed a brown Chevy with a small dog lying on the driver's side floorboard panting heavily. The outside temperature was 83 degrees and the officer used her laser thermometer to determine that it was 110 degrees inside the car. The officer went inside the thrift store to have the owner paged. When the owner arrived, she said she had only been inside the store about 15 minutes, although police received the call about the dog a half hour earlier. The officer told the woman to cool off the dog by pouring water on it. The woman was issued a summons on suspicion of animal neglect. (Denver.YourHub.com)
08/30/08, Brighton, CO
A woman was issued a summons for animal cruelty after her dog was found left inside a hot car. Officers were called to the parking lot of a Wal-Mart about 3:30pm on a report of a dog in a vehicle. The responding officer noted the temperature at 86 degrees when he was called to the scene. Witnesses at the scene led the officer to the car and estimated the animal was in the car for about an hour. The officer found the small black dog, possibly a Shih Tzu, sitting behind the driver's seat of the silver Mercedes SUV. The dog was responsive to the officer but panting. One of the witnesses went inside the store to page the owner of the vehicle. A short time later, a young girl came out to unlock the vehicle and apologized to the officer for leaving the dog in the car. She said her aunt was still in the store and would be out when she finished checking out. When the 28-year-old woman came out, she was, allegedly, argumentative. She told the officer the dog was "fine" and accused the officer of lying about how long it had been in the vehicle. She also told the officer her husband was a police officer in another jurisdiction. The officer took the woman's driver's license to issue a summons, and she said she would leave without it. The officer reminded her she would be leaving without her driver's license. After accepting her summonses for animal cruelty-neglect, the woman reminded the officer her husband was also a police officer. The responding officer told the woman she should have known better, as a police officer's spouse, than to leave a dog in a hot, unventilated car. The woman then scolded the officer with, "How dare you throw that in my face." (Brighton Standard Blade)
08/20/08, Corpus Christi, TX
Around noon, some concerned shoppers noticed a French Bulldog locked in a car parked outside the Padre Staples Mall. A woman waited 15 minutes before calling officers because she wanted to wait to see if the owners would come out. When police arrived they found the dog with no water, and the windows rolled up. The decision was made to break the passenger side window. The dog "couldn't catch his breath," said the woman. "He was stumbling inside the car. He fell over the parking brake and landed in the floor board." The owners of the dog, a couple from San Antonio, were very upset the window was busted. The woman said the dog wasn't in the car any longer than 30 minutes. Those who called 911 say it appeared the dog had been left there for a while. The dog, Bobby, is expected to make a full recovery. The couple won't get their dog back from the city's animal care services for at least 10 days, when an administrative hearing is scheduled. (KIII-TV Corpus Christi)
08/15/08, Chandler, AZ
A 27-year-old man will probably be charged with one count of cruelty to animals, a misdemeanor, after leaving Brother, his one-year-old Puggle (a pug/beagle mix), inside his SUV with the two front windows partially down for at least 35 minutes while he went inside a mall to get something to eat. A woman parked nearby heard the dog barking in the car and called police. Police took the dog, named Brother, to an animal hospital, where he received fluid through an IV. An officer wrote in his police report that when asked why he had left the dog inside the vehicle, the man "stated he was hungry and had to run into the mall to get something to eat. He further related he left the dog in the vehicle because he obviously couldn't take it into the mall." The man told police he didn't know how long he was in the mall and didn't realize how hot it was outside. The National Weather Service reported a high of 100 degrees in Chandler that day. Police say the man's was criminal because it was intentional. "He knows that he left the dog in there and he knew that the dog was in there and took the risk of harm being done to the dog anyway," said a police spokesman. "That's reckless." (East Valley Tribune)
08/15/08, Penzance, Cornwall, UK
Two terriers left in a locked car in direct sunlight in a market parking lot prompted quick action from nearby shopkeepers and questions about police handling of the situation. "A crowd gathered and we tried to spray water through a slit in the sun roof but it didn't work. Thankfully the man from the barber's shop had the presence of mind to put a white sheet over the car to cool the inside of the car," said a witness. A district councillor went to the police for help but was told, that despite having powers of forced entry, the police could only use that if it was a dangerous dog. Fortunately, the dogs' caretakers returned before drastic action was needed. (this is cornwall.co.uk)
08/04/08, Albany, NY
A 25-year-old woman was arrested on a misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals after she left a Pekingese dog in a 2001 Kia Sophia at the state Human Resources complex. Officers found the dog in distress in the car, which had its windows up. They took the dog to a local veterinarian to be checked, but it died upon arrival at the facility. "The officers believe the dog had been in the car with the windows up for about an hour Monday afternoon," said a police spokesperson. "It was just too hot for it inside the car." With temperatures hovering around the century mark and humidity making for sweltering 105-plus-degree heat indexes, police caution the public against leaving any living organism — dog, cat or human — inside a car alone during the daylight hours. The woman posted a $2,000 property bond Tuesday and was released. If convicted, she could face a hefty fine or up to a year in jail. (Albany Herald)
07/21/08, Mulberry, FL
A police dog left in a patrol car died after the car's air conditioning compressor failed. Sam Diesel, a two-year-old German shepherd, had been in the car for more than an hour, although it wasn't clear exactly how long he was in the car or when the air conditioning failed. Diesel's handler was working inside the police station and left the dog in the car with the air conditioning running. Keeping the dog in the patrol car with the air conditioning running is standard procedure and done routinely. When Diesel's handler returned to the car about 3:50pm to answer a call she found that Diesel had died and the car's air vents were blowing hot air. The officer was not at fault. The patrol car was awaiting the installation of a heat alarm, which could have alerted her to the danger. A heat alarm, triggered when the temperature inside the car reaches a certain level, sounds the car's horn and sends a page to the officer's electronic pager. The police chief said that Diesel's death took a toll on the officer. "Right now, she isn't doing well," he said. "It's not a matter of losing your property. It's a traumatic situation. It's just like losing your partner. The handlers and the dogs go through so much training together." (The Ledger)
07/19/08, New York, NY
Nearly a dozen neighbors on Manhattan's upper west side took action when they noticed a woman left her seven dogs trapped in an SUV for more than an hour. After someone opened the unattended SUV, a few neighbors put the seven dogs on leashes and offered them much needed water. When the dog's owner returned, she tried to go home with her dogs but neighbors refused to let them go. Police stepped in, ultimately hauling the woman away in handcuffs. She received a summons for animal cruelty and New York City Animal Care and Control took the dogs. An animal control spokesperson said all seven dogs are in good health, and at a shelter where they'll stay until everything is worked out. (WABC-TV New York, NY)
07/15/08 (reported), Ipswich, MA
A local Animal Control Officer discovered dogs left in three hot vehicles at Crane's Beach, in the Hammatt Street parking lot and on Argilla Road. In all three cases, he spoke with the dogs' providers and told them they shouldn't bring dogs along with them during the hot summer months. "The inside of a car can get up to 110 degrees on a 70-degree day," he said. When he is on patrol, the officer looks for signs of an animal being left inside a car. He looks for partially-opened windows and for saliva footprints on the windows. If he sees these signs, he looks inside the vehicle. Animals will hunker down, he said, as far away from the sunlight as they can, under the dashboard for instance. He uses a laser light thermometer to determine the temperature inside a vehicle. If a dog is trapped inside and he thinks the dog is in danger, he will take action. "I have the right," he said, "to remove the dog from the car by any means necessary if the dog is in danger or in distress." That may mean breaking the window. If an animal is injured or killed from being left in a hot vehicle, he can make a criminal complaint, in which case the owner could end up in court. (Ipswich Chronicle)
07/13/08, Sequim, WA
A Pekingese was reported dead after being left in a car for an unknown period of time. The dog perished in the Costco Wholesale parking lot. Another dog was also in the vehicle and survived. Leaving a dog — or any pet — in a vehicle on a warm day can lead to a $250 fine for animal cruelty. When asked whether the owner of the dog that died Sunday was cited, a Sequim code enforcement officer said the incident is still under investigation. (Peninsula Daily News)
07/11/08, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cambria, UK
A couple who went to pick up their son in a supermarket parking lot discovered "two bull terrier-type dogs ... trapped in a car with all of the windows wound right up". Attempts to discover the dogs' caregiver were unsuccessful. According to the husband of the couple, "Eventually another group of people got involved outside and we all decided we could not wait any longer or the dogs would be dead, so one of the others put a brick through the window and got them out. When the owner arrived she was upset about her windows and even when we explained what had happened you could tell she was still miffed. She must have been in [the supermarket] for about 30 minutes." (The Westmorland Gazette)
07/08/08, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
A woman was fined £400 for leaving her two dogs in her car while she went to the movies. The Sharpeis, Frida and Mr Chuffy, had to be put on a drip after animal welfare and police officers went to their assistance. A passerby had called the Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) after becoming concerned that the dogs were panting excessively and distressed. (The Press and Journal)
07/04/08, Corpus Christi, TX
A TV crew found a Boston Terrier mix found sitting inside an SUV parked at a shopping mall. It was 88 degrees outside and the windows on the Ford Explorer were barely cracked open. Because the dog was panting heavily and there was no water inside, they called police, who got the vehicle open and rescued the dog. Animal care services took the dog, who seemed to be fine. They said they would try to locate the owner and find out why the dog had been left in the enclosed car. (KIII-TV Corpus Christi)
07/04/08, Plano, TX
A woman left her Scottish Terrier in her vehicle in direct sunlight for nearly three hours while inside the Denny's located on U.S. 75. When police arrived, the dog's body registered at 115 degrees. The report stated there was no water in the car. The woman is currently being held in jail facing a felony charge. "Under city ordinance, you are not to ever leave an animal unattended in a vehicle at any time," Plano's Animal Services manager said. "You will be cited and the fines are set by a judge. You will face a class c misdemeanor. If the animal dies the police become involved and you can be charged under a state law felony." He reported that, despite constant community awareness, in addition to this one death 17 individuals were cited for leaving their animals unattended in their vehicle this summer. (Plano Courier Star)
07/01/08, Dundalk, ON, Canada
Police issued an arrest warrant for a driver who left his damaged car, with a dog locked inside, at a gas station near Dundalk. The car, a red Honda Civic, was left locked up on the lot with a Rottweiller dog left inside. Police were called about the abandoned vehicle at about 8:30am but believe it had been there for some time. The car had extensive damage from when it struck guide rails at a location about a half kilometre south on Highway 10. The dog was removed from the car, in good condition, with the assistance of a member of the SPCA. Police say it was fortunate it was reported early enough in the day before the interior could be exposed to mid-day heat. The driver of the car, a 20-year-old man, faces a number of Criminal and Highway Traffic Act charges related to the incident. (The Blue Mountain Courier-Herald)
07/01/08, Milton, ON, Canada
Two dogs — one a golden retriever cross, the other a black lab cross — were left in a vehicle parked at a apartment building for at least an hour-and-a-half. The dogs' continued whining and barking caught the attention of a bystander, who called police at about 3:00pm. "They were suffering from heat exposure and were panting heavily," said police. When humane society personnel responded, they found the dogs in good shape and were outside the vehicle enjoying some fresh air. The dogs were taken to the shelter and claimed the next day. Police later charged a 62-year-old woman visiting from Niagara-on-the-Lake with causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. (Milton Canadian Champion)
06/20/08, San Diego, CA
A San Diego police officer pleaded no contest to misdemeanor animal endangerment after leaving his dog in a closed car in a high-temperature causing death. A judge sentenced him to three years' probation and 100 hours of community service. He also must pay the Police Department nearly $5,000 for the dog. A necropsy performed on Forrest, a five-year-old Belgian Malinois, found the animal died of heatstroke outside the officer's home in Alpine. The officer, a 22-year veteran of the department, was accused of leaving the dog in the police cruiser with the windows rolled up on a day when temperatures in the county reached over 100 degrees. In 2006, a state law was enacted making it a misdemeanor for a person to leave a dog unattended in a vehicle causing great bodily injury or death. Only intentional animal cruelty is a felony. In an effort to prevent similar tragedies in the future, the Police Department announced that it plans to buy heat-alert systems for its fleet of 53 police dog cars similar to those used in other hot-temperature cities such as Dallas, Las Vegas and Phoenix. When the back seat of the patrol car reaches a certain temperature, the system will automatically lower the car's windows, switch on the air conditioning and sound an alarm. The technology will cost about $36,000. (San Diego Union Tribune, SignOnSanDiego.com)
06/18/08, Norwalk, CA
A 150-pound, eight-year-old Rottweiler named "Sierra" died after being left in a car for nearly an hour. Outside temperatures were in the triple digits and investigators say temperatures inside the car may have been as hot as 120 degrees. The dog's caregiver said he went inside his workplace to drop off something but got distracted by a phone call. The man was charged with two felony counts of animal abuse. (wtok-tv.com)
06/10/08, Salem, NH
A small Bichon dog was left in a locked SUV in a parking deck of a local mall during a statewide heat wave. The SUV was underneath a deck, but heat built up inside the structure. A customer noticed the dog about 6:30pm and called police, and an officer was able to free the dog in about 30 minutes. The dog was clearly in distress, said the officer, and the temperature was oppressive. "It was panting. It had its feet up on the door pawing at the window." The windows were shut tight. He gave the dog water and put it in his air-conditioned cruiser, then contacted the "owner" through a telephone number on the dog's collar. A 25-year-old woman responded. She told police she thought the dog would be OK and had taken the dog for a walk earlier. The police officer said it took about a half-hour to free the dog and another half-hour for the woman to return to the vehicle, so the dog would have been in the SUV for at least an hour had police not intervened. The woman was charged with cruelty to animals. (Union Leader)
06/10/08, Nashua, NH
A man was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of cruelty to animals after leaving his pit bull mix Dominic in his Mercedes parked at a local mall. Thermometer readings showed the interior of the car to be 103-104 degrees. Although the car was parked in a covered section of the mall parking lot, the outside temperature was in the low 90s at the time, and only two windows in the car were cracked open about an inch."This dog was in some distress," said a policeman who responded to the mall parking lot to help in the half-hour effort to get Dominic out of the car. The dog had no water in the car. "He was sitting in the back seat, panting, lethargic." Masella said. Another police officer had arrived at the mall at about 7:10pm in response to a call from security officers who shoppers alerted to the panting dog.The officers spoke with the drivers of the cars parked near the Mercedes who told them that the car had pulled into the parking lot at the same time they did, about 5:45pm. Security at the mall began paging the man to return to his vehicle shortly after the officers began investigating the case but the calls went unanswered until about 7:30pm when he came running out of the mall. "He had been in Joe's restaurant," police said. "Probably having a nice cold beverage." Officers then took the man to jail and Dominic to the Humane Society for Greater Nashua after determining the dog was going to be OK. The man was later released on $1,000 personal recognizance bail pending a June 25 hearing on the charge in Nashua District Court. (Nashua Telegraph)
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