Two dogs die in hot car
Eastpointe, MI (US)Incident Date: Friday, Aug 7, 2009
County: Macomb
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Jennifer Rainey
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
Jennifer Rainey, who works at Eastpointe Animal Hospital on Nine Mile Road, said she would like to know who shut the back windows of her pickup truck cap that caused two prized German shepherds to die of heat exhaustion.
Eastpointe police said they have no suspects and don't know why anyone would have closed the window of Rainey's Dodge Dakota truck with an Astro cap.
Detective Lt. Leo Borowsky said police don't know if Rainey accidentally shut the vent window of the pickup truck or if someone got mad at the barking dogs and shut the windows.
The temperature in Eastpointe Friday afternoon was 78 degrees. Borowsky said that is much too high for a dog in a confined area.
Rainey said Monday that she brought three dogs to work with her at 2:15 p.m. Friday and brought one inside and left the other two in the cab. She said she went back to her truck at 2:45 p.m. and the sliding windows were closed and both dogs were dead.
"While I was inside getting lunch orders from the employees at Eastpointe Animal Hospital one woman went outside to have a cigarette and she saw this woman walking past the truck with a dog and the two dogs I had were in the truck barking."
The employee, police said, saw the two dogs in the truck standing up in their crate. Rainey said the woman with the one dog came into the hospital to pick up some medication for her dog.
Rainey said she is devastated. She said all of the hospital employees were shocked.
Rainey said she often has left the dogs in her truck and has never experienced a problem.
"I take Ranger and Cassidy, the two dead dogs, to shows and they do quite well," Rainey said. "I bred Cassidy who belongs to a friend of mine and I got Ranger from Germany when he was 7 weeks old. They were great dogs."
Rainey said Cassidy spent five days a week at the animal hospital. She said both dogs have been in United Kennel Club shows for German shepherds.
She said Ranger had performed at trick expositions and he's been to various schools and done demonstrations. Just last week Cassidy became a "Canine Good Citizen" from the American Kennel Club.
Case UpdatesA dog groomer accused of killing two German shepherds by leaving them in a hot car was arraigned in an Eastpointe courtroom on animal cruelty charges Friday.
Jennifer Rainey told police it was a stranger who closed her truck’s windows on Aug. 7, causing heat to build and kill the two German shepherds dogs inside.
Rainey said she left her dog, Ranger, and another dog, Cassidy, in the truck while she took another dog, Rebel, inside the Eastpointe Animal Hospital on 9 Mile Road to show coworkers that he had just been certified as a therapy dog.
Rainey said the dogs were inside their own crates in the back of the truck, something she's done several times before. Rainey said the weather was mild and both dogs had water.
"These are show dogs. These are competition dogs. They've been in this truck all the time," Rainey said.
After 30 minutes, Rainey said she checked on the dogs and noticed that someone had closed the truck's side window.
"We opened up the tailgate and pulled the dogs out as fast as we could, but they were already gone. I miss my dog and nothing's going to bring either one of them back," Rainey said.
Eastpointe Lt. Leo Borowsky said many people warned Rainey about potential consequences of leaving the dogs in her truck under those conditions.
Borowsky said he also believes its important to inform the public about the situation because some pet owners may not be aware of the risks of putting pets in those conditions.
Cassidy's owner, Jennifer Doty, said she had been planning to take her dog for her 8-month photos but is now having to say good-bye.
"I was so excited to see her grow up," Doty said.
The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office authorized misdemeanor charges of animal abandonment and cruelty against Rainey on Monday.
After the arraignment Friday, Rainey was released on a $10,000 personal bond.
If convicted, she could spend up to a year in jail and a $500 fine. | Source: Click on Detroit - Oct 9, 2009
Update posted on Oct 12, 2009 - 3:01AM |
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