NEW PHILADELPHIA (Tusco TV) - The hot, humid weather has police reminding the public to be mindful of their pets if they go somewhere and leave them in the car.  

New Philadelphia Chief Mike Goodwin says his department gets calls year-round about dogs being left inside of parked vehicles. He says they respond and assess the situation, and if they determine the animal is in danger, they can charge the owner with a second-degree misdemeanor.  

“Well, we certainly want the person to give us a call and let the officers come down and assess the situation and figure out whether they feel that it’s a violation of the animal cruelty law. What the officer will do is gauge what the temperature is, see if the car is running, see if the windows are cracked and kind of take it on a case-by-case basis,” he says.

Goodwin says they’ve already had several complaints this summer result in animal cruelty citations including one this past Friday in the Walmart parking lot. 

“Here lately, we’ve been getting more. The temperatures have been pretty oppressive, so what we’ve ran into is actually somebody having two dogs in the back of a truck in a cage in direct sunlight in 80-some degree weather, which is absolutely irresponsible on their part, so they were rightfully given a citation for animal cruelty,” he says.

Goodwin says it’s a good idea for people to leave their pets at home during the summer months if they’re going to be out shopping. He says if someone does have to make a quick stop and their animal is in the car, their best bet is to leave the car on and locked up with the air conditioner running.

TUSCO TV