07/21/2020
On Tuesday (7/21) at approximately 12:45 PM, Mohave County Sheriff’s Office Deputies responded to a business in the 5200 block of Highway 95 in Fort Mohave for a dog barking inside a vehicle. Multiple witnesses reported seeing the dog inside the vehicle, barking loudly, with only the window cracked a small amount. The temperature outside at the time of the incident was approximately 110 degrees. The deputies attempted to get inside the locked vehicle, with no luck. Just as deputies were about to break the vehicle’s window to get the dog out, the owner exited the store and was ordered to unlock his vehicle so the dog could be treated for heat-related illness. Deputies reported the dog was in obvious distress and was in “pretty bad shape” when it was removed from the vehicle. The dog’s owner was cited for Cruelty to Animals.
There is NEVER an acceptable reason to leave your dog inside a vehicle with no air conditioning when it is this hot outside. Even in cooler weather, the inside of a car may be as much as 20 degrees hotter than the outside temperature. A shady parking spot, bowl of water or even an open window are insufficient measures to counteract the deadly effects of these temperatures. The rising temperature increases your dog’s heart and respiratory rates and can cause seizures as well and harm to vital organs resulting in permanent injury or death in a short time.
