CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A 26-year-old Petersburg man is charged with animal neglect after police say he left his dog in a parked car in the heat.
It happened Monday afternoon in the parking lot at Dutch Gap Park in Chesterfield.
Claude Stephens brings his dog to swim at the park fairly often.
He was troubled to hear what another dog owner did.
“I don’t think it’s a good thing. It’s too hot. I don’t think they’d last too long. I wouldn’t dare leave mine in the car for five minutes,” said Stephens.
Authorities say good Samaritans spotted the dog and got it out of the vehicle.
When police arrived, they tell us the temperature inside the van was 102 degrees.
“When you’ve got 90 plus degree days or even triple digit days like today, it’s practically a death sentence for an animal,” explained Rob Leinberger with Chesterfield Animal Services.
Leinberger showed us just how quickly the inside of a car can heat up.
The temperatures can soar by more than one degree a minute.
So on an 85 degree day, it only takes about 10 minutes for the temps to hit 102 degrees.
Leinberger added, “It’s much safer to leave them at home in the air conditioning than to risk them dying in a hot car.”
The dog is going to be OK.
Its owner goes to court next month for the animal neglect charge.
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