REXBURG — A Utah man was cited for misdemeanor cruelty to animals after police say he left his dog in a hot vehicle Wednesday afternoon.
Conrad Pieske, 69, was shopping at Walmart when officers were called around 12:30 p.m. They arrived 10 minutes later and found the dog inside Pieske’s vehicle.
“We believe the animal was in there 45 to 50 minutes,” Rexburg Police Capt. Randy Lewis tells EastIdahoNews.com. “The dog was in distress — it was panting, lying down and was in desperate need of water.”
Temperatures were in the 90s Wednesday afternoon in Rexburg. Even though two windows were cracked, Lewis said the inside of the vehicle was 107 degrees.
Last month a pit bull died after being left in a hot car in Idaho Falls. In that case, the dog’s owner was cited for animal cruelty.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, hundreds of pets die in vehicles every year due to heat exhaustion because they are left in parked vehicles. Temperatures in your vehicle can rise almost 20 degrees in only 10 minutes. After 60 minutes, the temperature inside a vehicle can be up to 40 degrees higher than the temperature outside. Cracking the windows at these temperatures does not help.
Police say these incidents serve as a reminder for all pet owners to never leave animals in their vehicles.
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