Buffalo, NY (WBEN) A Buffalo woman is charged with animal cruelty. The SPCA Serving Erie County says the woman left her dog in a hot car in a Cheektowaga parking lot Thursday.
Gina Lattuca with the SPCA Serving Erie County says Cheektowaga temperatures reached 91 degrees Wednesday afternoon when Cheektowaga Police and Animal Control officers responded to a call regarding a dog left in a vehicle at the Airport Plaza. "When officers arrived at the location, they reportedly found the dog inside of the vehicle in severe distress, seizing and vomiting," with a temperature of 107 degrees, says Lattuca.
The male dog, which appears to be a Boston Terrier, was removed from the vehicle and rushed by animal control officers to the Greater Buffalo Veterinary Emergency Clinic on Genesee St. in Buffalo when SPCA officers were called to assist.
Lattuca says the effects of heat stroke can set in quickly for an animal. "People bring their animals in vehicles with the best of intentions just to spend a little more time with the animal. Maybe they're running into a store for what they think will be five minutes they think it's okay," says Lattuca. She says even if you roll down the window and park in the shade, "Unfortunately, very often that five minutes turns into 10, 20, 30 minutes, the animal has already started suffering the effects of heatstroke."
Lattuca says if you see an animal in distress like that, call 911, not just the SPCA. "The reason we say to call 911 Is that we do respond to these calls. However we only have a couple officers on the road all of Erie county," explains Latucca. "Even if we rush to the scene, it will take us quite a bit of time to get there. By then an animal could already be deceased."