On Tuesday, a woman from Nashville was arrested in Florida for leaving her dog in a hot car while she went to the beach.
In the Pier 60 parking lot at Clearwater Beach, FOX 13 Tampa Bay reported that Marie Rutherford, 40, was arrested for animal cruelty after her dog had to be saved from a hot car. She was taken to the Pinellas County Jail.
The outlet said that at 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday, someone called Clearwater police to the parking lot and said there was an animal in trouble.
Officers saw a pit bull sitting in the back seat of the car when they got there. The car was parked in the sun at a time when it was about 90 degrees outside.
Clearwater police say the dog was panting and seemed to be in pain, even though the car windows were cracked about two or three inches. The dog was also falling asleep.
The rescue was caught on film by a police officer smashing the front passenger window of the car to open the doors. The dog was being cared for by another cop before it was helped out of the car and given fresh water.
The police said the dog had some warm water in the car, but not enough.
An statement seen by FOX 13 says Rutherford told police that she owned the dog and that she thought the dog would be fine while she was at the beach because she left water in the car.
Police said the dog had been in the car for thirty to forty minutes.
Clearwater Beach doesn’t let any pets (except service animals) on the sand in the public swimming area. However, dogs on leashes are welcome on North Beach and along the Beach Walk.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says that pets should never be left in a car for more than 10 minutes, because the temperature inside can rise to 20 degrees higher than the outside temperature, which can kill the pet.
The ASPCA also said that cracking the windows doesn’t keep the car from getting too hot, and they say that pets should stay at home when you go somewhere they aren’t wanted.
