NEWBURYPORT — Thinking about leaving your dog in your car on a hot day? For some people, doing just that has led to serious criminal charges.
In the past few weeks, Newburyport police have issued at least three criminal summonses to owners who left their dogs in hot cars. Summertime heat inside a car can often prove dangerous or fatal for the animal.
"I just don't think people realize how hot it gets in there. Common sense should tell you that if it's a hot day, it's going to be hotter in your car," said Lt. Rick Siemasko of the Newburyport police.
Earlier this month, police received a call from concerned citizens in the Black Cow restaurant parking lot off Merrimac Street, where a terrier had been left in a vehicle in the sun. When police arrived on the scene, the crowd was getting agitated, something that is common when it comes to cases involving animals, Siemasko said.
"They were upset," he said. "They wanted to get the guy responsible."
With the time-stamped parking pass from the waterfront lot, officers were able to determine that the dog had been left in the car for 33 minutes on a day that saw temperatures in the high 80s and low 90s. With temperatures like that, cracking a window doesn't make much of a difference. The car registered an inside temperature of 108 degrees, and no water was left out for the dog, police said. As a result, the owner of the car, Daniel Nathan of Lynn, was summonsed for cruelty to an animal.
"Assault and battery on a police officer is a misdemeanor. This is a felony. That's how serious this is," Siemasko said.
Massachusetts General Law Chapter 272, Section 77, makes cruelty to an animal a felony, punishable by no more than five years in state prison or two and a half years in the house of correction and a fine of not more than $2,500.
Cruelty to an animal is defined as neglecting, beating, abandoning, transporting cruelly or using an animal as a lure. A dog left in a hot car falls under neglect, defined as unnecessarily failing to provide food, drink, sanitary conditions and protection from the environment. Whether a summons is issued or an arrest is made is subject to the discretion of the officer, but if probable cause is found, violators are charged with a felony.
After animals are freed from vehicles, they can be seized for up to 60 days, with owners responsible for shelter fees at the animal control office. Siemasko said the dogs seem to enjoy their brief stop at the Newburyport Police department, where the air conditioning is running full blast, the water is fresh and the cold cell floors help the animals to cool off.
In addition to the incident at the Black Cow, officers have issued two summonses this summer for similar situations. Siemasko added that when they respond to calls like this, officers will do what's necessary to safely secure the animal, breaking a car window if they have to.
Area veterinarians give the same advice as many websites on the subject do: In warm weather, dogs should be left at home. And while there's certainly a difference between a dog in a car for five minutes and a dog in a car for an hour, the law doesn't discriminate.
"You can leave your dog, but if probable cause is found, no matter the situation, you're subject to summons or arrest," Siemasko said.
Dogs are especially vulnerable to heat and humidity because they have a harder time cooling themselves off in hot weather. While humans can sweat to cool off, dogs can only sweat through their paw pads and pant, expelling excess heat with breath. When dogs are in close quarters and high humidity, their ability to control their body temperatures is severely limited.
With temperatures expected to stay in the high 80s and low 90s for the next few days, closed cars are no place for animals, Siemasko warned.
"If you neglect your animal, you're subject to arrest," he said.
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