A Marion County, Oregon sheriff’s deputy saved a dog locked in a hot car this past weekend. The animal was found in the vehicle unresponsive, after being stuck in there for an undetermined amount of time. Thankfully, one windows was cracked open just enough for the deputy to get the door open, and rescue the dog.
The incident took place in the parking lot of the Silver Falls State Park this past Sunday. According to police reports, the deputy found the dog in the vehicle, still alive and panting but totally unresponsive. The temperatures outside the car were in the 90’s, so the temperature inside the car would be up over 100 degrees.
The police report also stated that the vehicle’s owner made no attempts at protecting the dog in the car from the heat. The vehicle was parked in direct sunlight, with only one window slightly cracked open for air.
The window that was left open just a crack, was just enough for the deputy to be able to get into the locked vehicle without having to break the window. The dog was then taken out of the hot vehicle, and the deputy brought it into his cruiser. He cranked up the air conditioning, and gave the overheated pooch some much needed water. It wasn’t long before the dog became responsive again, and is in good health at this time.
When the owner of the vehicle returned from her hike, she was surprised to see officers and others around her car. She was promptly arrested for animal cruelty, but was eventually released with an appearance ticket for animal cruelty, which the Marion County Sheriff’s Office takes very seriously. No further information was available at the time of the writing of this article.
Doctor Jacquelyn Abbatanton of Dove-Lewis Animal Hospital, located in Northwest Portland, said even just a warm day can be too hot to be leaving a dog trapped in a car for any period of time.
“Leaving a dog in a car on a 70 degree day can quickly end up in a car that is more like 100 degrees. So remembering that even if it is warm, not too hot outside, it still gets very hot in a parked car,” said Doctor Abbatanton.
Thankfully that deputy happened to pass by the area where he did, when he did. Otherwise, we may have had another senseless tragedy to report, and there are far too many of them this time of year. Please remember, even with the windows cracked open, it is still way too hot to be leaving anyone, especially dogs, in the car for any length of time.
Leaving your dog in a hot car in many places will now get you a sizable fine for animal cruelty. Hopefully, with enough people getting the word out on this, and stiffer penalties for doing so will make this irresponsible behavior a thing of the past.
