Unattended Dog Overheats Inside Parked Truck, Rescue Made

PALM DESERT, CA — Officials with the Riverside County Department of Animal Services are reminding residents to never leave animals unattended inside vehicles after an overheated dog was rescued from a hot truck in Palm Desert.

On Tuesday, the RCDAS reported that at approximately 6 p.m. June 1 it received a call about the dog left inside a hot Chevy Colorado at The Shops at Palm Desert, 72-840 Highway 111.

The high temperature in Palm Desert that day was 102 degrees, according to the agency.

After a RCDAS officer arrived at the scene, a bystander smashed one of the truck's windows to expedite the animal's rescue, the agency reported.

"Bystanders told the officer the dog, an 8-year-old Pomeranian mix, had been left unattended for at least 45 minutes," according to RCDAS spokesperson John Welsh.

The RCDAS officer checked the pooch’s temperature and found it was way too high — 104.9 degrees. The officer took the animal to the VCA Valley Animal Medical Center & Emergency Hospital in Indio where it was examined and treated for heat stroke, Welsh reported.

RCDAS staff veterinarian Dr. Luis Lizarraga said a 106-degree temperature can be fatal or cause such damage to a dog’s brain that the injuries are irreversible.

“It’s very dangerous to leave pets in cars during high-temperature days,” Animal Services Director Erin Gettis said. “Please leave your pets at home in the air conditioning or, when traveling with your pet, never leave them in a car.”

The little dog's life was saved after hospital staff administered fluids and did blood work.

A sheriff's deputy who responded to the scene at The Shops at Palm Desert arrested the dog’s owner on suspicion of leaving an animal in an unattended motor vehicle under conditions that endangered its health and well-being. The woman was released at the scene, according to Welsh, and her identity was not disclosed.

The woman could face jail time if convicted, although she was able to take her dog home on June 2 from the Coachella Valley Animal Campus in Thousand Palms after paying the $1,033 veterinary bill at the VCA hospital.

The woman admitted she was wrong and hopes to learn from her mistake, according to RCDAS.

It is legal for someone to smash a vehicle window to save a pet if the animal appears to be in imminent danger. California is one of a handful of states that allows good Samaritans to rescue animals without facing penalties. The California law — started in 2017 — protects people from civil and criminal liability if a vehicle is damaged due to a pet rescue.