LAKE STATION, IND. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Indiana State Police and the Lake County prosecutor have announced charges against two men for last summer’s heat-related deaths of nine dogs in a box truck in Lake Station.
The owner of the K-9 training company and the driver who was taking the dogs from O’Hare to southwest Michigan have each been charged with 18 counts of animal cruelty, one misdemeanor for each dog involved.
Michael McHenry and Jesse Urbaszewski are both from Michigan City.
Sergeant Glen Fifield said State Police recreated conditions of that hot July day and found the cooling system never reached a tolerable level.
“An hour and 55 minutes into the simulation, the interior of the box truck reached 89 degrees,” Fifield said. “It’s important to note this is without any dogs being inside the truck.”
PETA said about the charges "nothing can undo the terrible suffering and agonizing deaths the dogs endured,” but the group is thankful to police and prosecutors for pursuing some measure of justice for them.
“It was a blatant disregard to standard safety practices, which made this incident preventable,” Fifield added.
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