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Despite repeated warnings by police, news stations, animal advocates, and the general public, people continue to carelessly leave dogs inside parked cars.
Such was the case on Wednesday when Maryland’s Anne Arundel County Police Department responded to an alert about a dog left in a truck with no water, showing signs of distress, at the Glen Burnie District Courthouse parking lot.
According to an announcement by the AACPD,
Upon arrival, officers spoke with a civilian witness, who said she noticed a dog unattended in a pickup truck. The caller said that she had been present at the scene at least 30 minutes before the arrival of police. The officers noted that one of the truck’s windows was open only about one inch and there was no water available for the dog. The dog appeared to be in distress. Officers made attempts to locate the vehicle’s owner in the court house without success. Based on the fact that the temperature was 90 degrees and the dog, a 7-year-old Scot-Terrier mix, was in obvious distress, the officers broke a window to rescue the dog.
About 30 minutes after they rescued the dog, his owner, 54-year old James Humphries, returned to the truck.
He was given a citation for leaving an animal unattended in a vehicle. The dog was evaluated by Animal Control and, because he did not need medical attention, was returned to the owner.
While temperatures outside were in the low 90’s, temperatures inside a vehicle, even with windows down, can soar to over 120-degrees in only a few minutes.
Please, leave your dogs at home or keep them by your side.
Sean
says:abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/officer-charged-hot-car-death-police-dog-25092254
pat johnson
says:Way to go MSP. Appreciate your efforts on behalf of dog lovers everywhere
Rickie
says:If the owners don’t care enough for their pets and just leave them in hot cars,than they don’t deserve to own a pet.They should have the pet taken away from them and given a fine and sent to jail. There is no excuse or reason to leave an animal in a hot car.
Mimi
says:Agreed 100%!!
Dana Gallup
says:Yes! I applaud the rescue of any animal (pet) from an unattended vehicle, but I believe a law should be noted nationwide that any pet abandoned in a vehicle any length of time should be removed by police or by a citizen and taken by police to SPCA with loss of owner rights! At least a pet has a better survival rate! If I ever see one abandoned I would break a window!
Joyce
says:Problem with your idea is the very few dogs survive a stint in the pound. And if the pounds in Maryland are anything like those in PA, you have to pay a fee to get your animal back, almost like the adoption fee. If the owner cared so little for his pet that he would leave it in an oven, what are the chances he would pay to get it back? Not very good IMO.