MISSOURI -- Animal abuse charges are being sought against a Union woman who allegedly locked two dogs in her vehicle after one of them killed a neighborhood cat.
Officers responded to a home in Woodland Oaks after a call that two dogs were locked in a vehicle and one appeared to be dead.
When officers arrived, one of the dogs was deceased and the other was extremely overheated, police said.
The window of the vehicle was broken to retrieve the second dog, which was brought to the Franklin County Humane Society for medical care.
The owner of the animal was arrested and told police she had left the dogs in the vehicle for up to an hour and a half.
The Union Police Department reminded animal owners of the dangers of leaving an animal in a vehicle.
“Numerous times each summer we respond to calls similar to this,” Police Chief Norman Brune said. “In most cases we are able to rescue the animals before serious injury has occurred. However, occasionally — as in this case — the results are tragic.”
The temperature inside a vehicle on a hot sunny day can reach 140 degrees, even if windows are left partially open. The chief urged people to think ahead and not take animals along if they have to make any stops, such as for shopping or eating.
“Not only is it illegal to leave your animal in a vehicle like this, sometimes it is just dead wrong,” Brune said.
(The Missourian - Jun 14, 2017)
