The heat is not only tough on us, it also affects our furry friends. That is a lesson that was brought home in Scott County Thursday. Humane society workers say a dog is lucky to be alive. He was freed by an officer after his owner left him in a hot car for hours, with the windows rolled all the way up.
"You know, how could a person do this to a dog?" It's a question Scott County Deputy Ryan Strom has been asking since Thursday afternoon, since he responded to the Crow Creek Wildlife Park for a call of a dog locked in a car.
The little guy is recovering, but it was touch and go for what we are told is a pit bull -boxer mix, just five months old. Strom says, "I got there and saw the dog in the car. I'm thinking it was down in the floor board area of the front passenger seat. When I got up by the door it kind of climbed up and looked at me. It was panting pretty heavily and looked like it was in a lot of distress."
The heat index was about 115 degrees, but it was much hotter inside the car. Deputies believe the dog had been trapped there for two and a half hours. Strom knew he had to help, and there wasn't much time. "I broke out the window of one of the doors and I was able to get the dog out."
Strom poured water on the dog to bring down his body temperature, while waiting for animal control. Then he went looking for the owner, finding him 50 to 70 yards away by a lake. "There wasn't too much concern that I could see. I mean he just casually walked up to the car. He was more concerned when he got up to the car that his window was broken out and his dog wasn't there."
Officers arrested 18-year old Taylor Dinneweth. He is charged with animal abuse. We are told the dog is in good condition. No word on if the two will be reunited. "It is like people forgetting their kids in the back seat of a car," Strom says. "It was just very heartbreaking."
