Dog dies locked in hot car
Portsmouth, NH (US)Incident Date: Friday, Aug 3, 2007
County: Rockingham
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: John Lounge
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A Chihuahua died Friday after being left in a closed vehicle outside of Home Depot in 95-degree weather.
"We're investigating this as a prolonged exposure to heat inside the vehicle," said Capt. David "Lou" Ferland.
Police received a call from Home Depot at 2:23 p.m. Friday that the dog was in trouble. The owner had come running into Home Depot with the dog and had thrown cold water on it and put it in front of a fan in an attempt to revive it, Ferland said. By the time police arrived, the dog and owner were gone.
The owner had taken the dog to a local animal hospital where it was pronounced dead.
Ferland said the dead Chihuahua was between 4 and 5 years old.
Ferland declined to name the owner of the Chihuahua since the investigations of both are ongoing. "Charges could be brought," he said.
"It is criminal when we can show a protracted cruelty to the animal," Ferland said. "Cruelty to animals is a universal charge that we apply to animals that are left inside closed areas without proper ventilation.
"There is a duty of care that is expected of people who have domesticated pets, just like there is a duty of care for a parent to their child. ... If you breach that duty of care, that is criminally wrong, and I think morally wrong."
Ferland said the city's animal control officer is on annual leave and the cases are pending until her return. Meanwhile, the department has consulted with the animal cruelty investigator at the New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals regarding both cases.
Case UpdatesWhile being sentenced Tuesday for breaking state "animal in a motor vehicle" law, John Lounge volunteered his criminal history as including armed robbery convictions.
"I think there was about eight of them," he told Judge Sawako Gardner. "It was in the 60's. No one got hurt."
Lounge, 69, of 99 Eben Farm Road, Madison, appeared in Portsmouth District Court May 6 for sentencing on the class A misdemeanor. Following a March 25 trial, he was found responsible for leaving his Chihuahua, Coco, inside a parked van for a half-hour last August, leading to the dog's death.
Prosecutor Stephen Kasmar recommended Lounge be sentenced to six months in the Rockingham County House of Corrections, with all of it suspended pending his good behavior for one year. He also suggested the judge impose a $2,000 fine, with half suspended conditional upon the same good behavior.
Calling his recommendation "a deterrence," Kasmar asked the judge to also order Lounge to take an "animal education type course."
"I don't feel it's against the law to take your dog or cat in your car," Lounge told the judge. "My dog was sick."
Lounge told the judge he is about to turn 70, is a disabled veteran and that his criminal history also includes an Arizona conviction for possession of "three or four pounds" of marijuana.
The judge noted his criminal history "dates back quite a way," before imposing a lighter sentence than recommended by the prosecution. Her sentencing order includes a $2,000 fine and 60-day county jail sentence, with all of it suspended pending his good behavior for two years.
Lounge said he would appeal the guilty finding, but did not know if he would bring it to the county superior or state Supreme Court.
Judge Gardner ruled that Lounge's dog "died as a result of being left in a motor vehicle which reached temperatures unbearable to sustain life." The judge also noted Lounge's negligence, based on his own documented awareness of possible risk to the dog, by his having a fan and water in his van, with the windows open.
In her two-page decision, she also cited Lounge's "expressed affection for his deceased pet" and that he "certainly had no intent to cause Coco any harm."
The case began August 3, 2007, when police were called to the Woodbury Avenue Home Depot, where Lounge ran inside with the dog, threw cold water on him and placed him in front of a fan in an attempt to revive him. By the time police arrived, Lounge and Coco were gone, while a subsequent investigation showed they went to a nearby veterinary hospital, where Coco was dead on arrival.
During his trial, Lounge testified he loved, traveled with and slept in the same bed as the dog. His dog suffered health problems, he told the court and died as "an act of God."
The prosecution presented evidence that after Coco died, the dog's body temperature was higher than a standard veterinary thermometer will register. | Source: Sea Coast Online - May 6, 2008
Update posted on May 6, 2008 - 4:06PM |
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