Iowa: Man claims he loves his dog but left her locked inside hot car for half an hour outside Walmart

IOWA -- A man is being cited for animal neglect after leaving his dog in a hot car Friday morning.

Des Moines police responded to the Walmart on Southeast 14th Street shortly after 9:00 a.m.

 

Police say a man left his dog in the car for more than 30 minutes without water and cool air. It was 84 degrees at the time of the rescue, but Animal Control says inside of the car felt more like 94 degrees.

A Walmart customer called police about the dog and when officers arrived they found the older dog was in distress -- panting and shaking.

  

 

The dog’s owner says he regrets his actions.

Um, if you watch the video, he really didn't say he regretted his actions. He made excuses and claimed he'd just gone inside Walmart to get $20. That doesn't take 30 minutes, dude.

"Never mind I just gotta go to court and all that, I love my dog you shouldn’t leave them in there that long. If I didn’t need that $20 I wouldn’t have left her in there that long,” said the man.

 

 

The police did return the dog back to her owner for the time being, but they will be following up with the man about the animal’s care.

Animal Control officials say they receive upwards of three animal rescue calls like this a day.

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(WHOTV - July 21, 2017)