A woman's dog died after being left in a hot car and now she is charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty.
Orlando Police said Jose Thomas of College Park, GA, left her dog in a crate inside her truck with the window cracked open at a location on Mercy Drive.
Police were notified about the dog, and by the time an officer got there 12:52 p.m. the dog was unconscious and breathing very shallow. The officer drove the dog to John Young Animal Hospital, but the vet was unable to help it.
Thomas told the officer she went to run errands and left the dog with some water inside the crate. A friend called and told her the dog was unresponsive a short while later, and Thomas said she asked her friend to break the window and save the dog.
Thomas told police she thought it would be alright to leave the dog in the truck.
Our meteorologists say the temperature around noon Thursday was 89 degrees. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, after 20 minutes the temperature inside the car would have risen to almost 120 degrees. After an hour, the temperature would have been at least 130 degrees.
According to the officer, after she put Thomas in the back of the police car, Thomas said it was hot inside. This is what the officer said to Thomas, according to the police report:
"I then asked Thomas how she thinks her dog felt with the car not running and stuck inside a crate and at that time, Thomas did understand the extent of what she did."