According to a Barnstable police release, SCU members Barnstable Deputy Kim Saladino and Mashpee K9 Officer Mike Assad were conducting a routine patrol at the community college when they discovered the Golden Retriever locked in a 1996 red Honda Civic in parking lot 7.
Although sunny and in the 70s outside the car, the temperature inside the car was 106 degrees. A window was cracked, but the car was parked in direct sunlight, police said.
SCU contacted campus police and CCCC Police Chief Phil Ryan confirmed that the car was owned by a registered student, 25-year-old Peter M. Giblin of Eastham.
Giblin could not be located on campus and his last class of the day had ended almost two hours earlier. Giblin did not answer his cell phone when police tried to contact him. Police were able to give Cooper some water through the partially opened window as they continued to try and reach Giblin.
Barnstable Animal Control Officer Charles Lewis was called to the parking lot and the decision was made to free the dog from the car.
According to police, Cooper wasn't the only discovery made that afternoon. When the dog was freed, the officers reportedly saw a mason jar packed with pot in "plain view". The jar contained six baggies of marijuana, packaged for sale, police said.
Cooper was transported to Barnstable Animal Control and officers waited until Giblin reappeared at 3:40 p.m., more than an hour after Cooper was first found.
Giblin, who officers called uncooperative, was placed under arrest and charged with cruelty to animals and possession of a Class D substance (marijuana) with intent to distribute. He will be arraigned in Barnstable District Court on Wednesday.
According to the MSPCA, even with a window open a hot car can lead to fatal heat stroke for dogs.
Click here for the MSPCA flyer on hot cars and heat stress.
(Cape Cod Today - April 10, 2013)
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