Suffolk Man Kept 4 Siberian Huskies Out During Heat Wave: SPCA

MELVILLE, NY — A Melville man who kept his four Siberian Huskies outside for more than six hours while he wasn’t home during the recent heat wave was charged Monday by officers from the Suffolk County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the organization said.

An officer responded to a Rope Court home and found the dogs penned in a fenced-off area of the yard, Roy Gross, chief of the Suffolk SPCA, said. Michael I. Kaplow, 78, told the SPCA officer that his dogs can handle the extreme temperatures and that he keeps them outside in all temperatures, Gross said. There was a Heat Advisory issued by the National Weather Service in effect during the time the dogs were outside, and the temperature had exceeded 90 degrees, the SPCA said.

Kaplow was charged with two counts of violating section 299-51 of the Suffolk County Code, which is an unclassified misdemeanor. He is scheduled to appear in First District Court in Central Islip on Aug. 7.