Dog locked in hot car
Virginia Beach, VA (US)

Incident Date: Sunday, Oct 12, 2008
County: Virginia Beach City

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged:
» Paula Mills
» Donna Mills

Two sisters remained in the Virginia Beach jail Monday with no bond permitted after they scuffled with police and animal control officers Sunday, police said.

Sisters Paula Mills, 40, and Donna Mills, 39, both of the 500 block of Birdneck Road, have been charged with animal cruelty and assaulting an officer. A police officer and animal control officer were investigating a report of the pair's dog locked in an SUV when the incident happened, police said.

A call at 12:30 p.m. Sunday alerted authorities that a dog was locked inside a Ford Explorer at Regency Hilltop Shopping Center off Laskin Road, said Officer Adam Bernstein, a police spokesman.

Animal control Officer Jasmine Burton called for assistance from Virginia Beach police at 12:49 p.m., he said. The outside temperature at nearby Oceana Naval Air Station was 97 degrees, he said.

Officer Molly Ellison of the Police Department arrived at the shopping center shortly after 1 p.m. and found the SUV with a dog in it. A window was cracked. She went inside DW's Grill & Mongolian BBQ to try to find the owner.

After the animal control officer arrived, the two sisters came out of a store and let out the dog, Bernstein said.

The officers told the sisters they wanted to put the dog, Coco, into an air-conditioned crate in the back of an animal control truck and cool it down with water, he said.

"The police officer and the animal control officer both tried to explain repeatedly what they were doing," Bernstein said. "Worse case scenario: They would have got their animal back and got a summons for animal cruelty."

According to police, one sister jumped on top of the animal control officer. When the police officer tried to pull her off, the other sister grabbed the police officer, and they all scuffled.

A citizen helped the officers arrest the sisters, Bernstein said. The dog ran away. The sisters yelled, "Run, Coco, run home; they're going to try to kill you,'" Bernstein said.

Coco was hit by a car on Westminster Lane. The dog, apparently a mix of Chesapeake Bay retriever and pit bull, was treated for broken bones and lacerations at the Beach Veterinary Emergency Center on Lynnhaven Parkway, Bernstein said. Whether she goes back to her owners will be up to a judge, Bernstein said.

Both officers had minor bruises and scrapes, he said.

The Humane Society advises people who see pets locked in cars during the summer to alert management of a store where the car is parked to find the owner, and if the owner can't be found, call animal control or police immediately.

"It takes such a short amount of time for a dog to suffer from heat stroke," said Officer Meghan Conti of the Virginia Beach Bureau of Animal Control.

The sisters were each charged with animal cruelty, misdemeanor assault on an animal control officer and felony assault on a police officer.

References

• « VA State Animal Cruelty Map

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