Following Animal Cruelty Arrest, Animal Control Cautions Against Leaving Dogs in Hot Cars

Police charged a Pleasant Valley woman with animal cruelty after finding her two Australian shepherds dehydrated in her hot car on in early July.

Kathryn Bartos, 60, of Pleasant Valley, left the dogs in the car for about two hours on July 2 in the Healthtrax Wellness Center parking lot while she went to a 9:30 a.m. doctor appointment, according to Avon-Canton Animal Control Officer Beverly LaPlume. A person who saw the dogs in the vehicle called Avon police to report it at 10:50 a.m.

Bartos told LaPlume that the older of the two dogs wasn’t feeling well so she brought it with her.

LaPlume removed the dogs from the car by 11:30 a.m. and said that the car’s internal temperature had reached 92 degrees by that point.

Most of the windows were left about a quarter of an inch open and the window on the passenger side was open about two inches. Silver windshield covers were draped on the front and side windows, so the air wasn’t able to circulate, LaPlume said. Bartos left water for the dogs in a plastic bowl that was hidden from the dogs’ site by a shopping bag.

Both dogs had pale gums and were dehydrated. 

LaPlume cautions dog owners against bringing their pets on car rides with the high heat levels this summer unless they plan on bringing them in a store that allows dogs.

“What you think could only be 10 minutes could be 20 minutes,” she said.

In general, if the temperature is 75 to 80 degrees or more outside, they shouldn’t be left in cars at all, she said. Cracking the windows doesn’t eliminate the sweltering temperatures, particularly if it’s humid outside, she added.

“The vehicle heats up rapidly,” LaPlume said. “Dogs can suffer brain damage if they get overheated inside the car and you won’t recognize it because the dog can’t tell you. 

LaPlume has already gotten several calls this summer about dogs left in cars, so she asks pet owners to use common sense when bringing their dogs along for the ride. 

“You wouldn’t want to sit in there and it would be too hot for you, so don’t do it to your best friend," LaPlume said.