Cockatoo dies in hot car Fredericksburg, VA (US) Incident Date: Saturday, Jul 22, 2006 County: Fredericksburg City Local Map: available Disposition: Alleged Alleged: Donia Monique Brooks

Case ID: 9433 Classification: Neglect / Abandonment Animal: bird (pet) View more cases in VA (US) Login to Watch this Case

A woman whose pet cockatoo died after it was left in a sweltering car while she went to a movie has been charged with animal cruelty.

Moviegoers told police they saw the bird, which appeared distressed, in the back of the car at about 5:20 on July 22 afternoon, police spokesman Jim Shelhorse said. They alerted Regal Cinema theater staff who called the police.

By the time police opened the car, the bird was dead in its cage, Shelhorse said.

Donia Monique Brooks, 25, was charged with cruelty to animals, a misdemeanor that can bring up to a year in prison.

Shelhorse said a window in the car had been left open about 2.5 centimeters, but the temperature outside was 32 Celsius and the heat index was about 36 Celsius.

The owner returned to her car shortly after 6 p.m. and acknowledged that it was her bird, Shelhorse said. She was given a summons and released.

Neighborhood Map

For more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.

Back to Top

Add this case to:

Del.icio.us

|

Digg

|

Furl

|

References

	Fox News - July 25, 2006
	MSNBC - July 25, 2006
	USA Today - July 25, 2006
	News Channel 8 - July 25, 2006
	WJLA
	CNN
	NBC 4 - July 24, 2006

« VA State Animal Cruelty Map

Not sure what these icons mean? Click here.

Note: Classifications and other fields should not be used to determine what specific charges the suspect is facing or was convicted of - they are for research and statistical purposes only. The case report and subsequent updates outline the specific charges. Charges referenced in the original case report may be modified throughout the course of the investigation or trial, so case updates, when available, should always be considered the most accurate reflection of charges.

For more information regarding classifications and usage of this database, please visit the database notes and disclaimer.