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Kitten rescued from hot vehicle by police
Tampa, FL (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Aug 29, 2002
County: Hillsborough
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Emily McDonald
Emily McDonald, 22, from Oakland, CA, was charged with one count of felony animal cruelty for leaving a kitten inside her locked sport utility vehicle while she went shopping at the West Shore Plaza.
Shoppers notice the small, fluffy gray and white kitten inside the car during the afternoon and found an off- duty Hillsborough sheriff's deputy who called Tampa police.
When officer Tom Colon arrived, he saw the kitten lying on its side, panting. The temperature was in the high 80s and the vehicle's windows were open about half an inch. Colon called Hillsborough Animal Services and the county sent an officer.
Colon said, "The cat started to get more lethargic. It wouldn't respond to my tapping on the window."
The county officer told officer Colon the kitten was in grave danger. Colon broke one of the vehicle's side windows and removed the kitten.
Approximately 40 minutes after the officers arrived the vehicle's owner returned from the mall. At first, Emily McDonald thought her SUV had been broken into and her kitten stolen. "She asked where her car was."
The female kitten is at the county animal shelter and is in good shape. The kitten will remain there until the legal case against McDonald is finished or she signs over her ownership of the animal to the county.
The kitten has been named "Lucky" by the staff at the animal shelter. References |
