Man Left Dog In Hot Car At Walmart: Naugatuck Police

NAUGATUCK, CT — A Naugatuck man is accused of leaving a dog in a hot car for more than 25 minutes in the Walmart parking lot on Sunday morning. Naugatuck Animal Control responded to the store at 1100 New Haven Rd. in Naugatuck around 10:45 a.m. to check on the dog.

Police said animal control used an infrared thermometer that showed the interior temperatures of the vehicle were between 99.5 degrees and 102.5 degrees. Witnesses told police that the vehicle had been parked, with only the dog inside, for at least 26 minutes.

“Based on the investigation, the panting and breathing of the dog inside the vehicle, the temperature readings from inside the vehicle, the statements of the bystanders, probable cause existed to arrest the accused for failing to protect the dog from the weather by leaving the dog in the car for at least 26 minutes where the temperatures inside the vehicle exceeded 99 degrees,” police wrote in a news release.

Andre S. Rodrigues, 46, of Golden Hill Street, was charged with cruelty to animals. He was released on a $500 bond and is due in court Sept. 10.