New York: Jocelyn Evans, 41, charged with animal cruelty after her two dogs died of heatstroke

NEW YORK --  A Henrietta woman was arrested Tuesday after police found two dogs dead of heat stroke.

Police said they received a call about two dogs left outside in extreme heat at a house on Sedgley Park on July 22nd.

When officers arrived at the house, Jocelyn Evans, 41, allegedly told the Humane Investigator that the two dogs had died and were taken to a local veterinary hospital.

Evans' husband, Ed Evans, was home when the dogs suddenly got sick.

"I just want people to understand my wife should not be charged of any crime of any sort. My wife was actually at work the time that it happened," said Evans.

According to Ed Evans, the dogs were only outside for about two hours. He says they had food, water and shelter from the sun.

His son and a friend were playing outside at the time and noticed when the dogs started acting funny. They ran inside to get Evans for help.

"When we came outside, we noticed that the dogs were still breathing, somewhat heavily. I immediately knew that something was wrong, so we began to try to put some water on the dogs to see if they overheated and we also tried to do CPR on the dogs. Nothing worked, so we rushed them immediately to the vet's," said Evans.

Both dogs died on the way to the vet.

"It’s a really hard time for us, especially when we come back out here and we’re so used to seeing our animals and they’re gone," said Evans.

Evans wonders if some recent yard work initially made them sick.

"They were very healthy and very cared for," said Evans. "We had just gotten our yard done with some type of pesticides. We have plenty of wild animals out here, so we don't know if the dogs got into something they weren't supposed to get into."

According to Lollypop Farm, Humane Society of Greater Rochester necropsies of the two adult female dogs, a Rottweiler named Roxy and Great Dane named Blue, found both died of heat stroke.

"We gathered evidence and we determined that there was definitely neglect here, and this wasn't an educational moment - this is something that's serious," said Humane Society of Greater Rochester Director of Law Enforcement Reno Di Domenico.

Evans was charged with animal cruelty and failure to provide proper sustenance and adequate shelter. She is scheduled to appear in Henrietta Town Court on August 23 to answer to the charges.

Evans faces a $1,000 fine and/or up to one year in prison.

To report suspected animal cruelty, call the Lollypop Farm Animal Cruelty Hotline at (585) 223-6500 or 911 for immediate life-threatening situations.

(WHAM - Aug 10, 2016)