Dogs In Hot Vehicles Prompt Joliet Police Response

JOLIET, IL - A man from Wilmette and another man from Wilmington were cited by Joliet police this week in connection with separate incidents of leaving their dogs locked inside hot vehicles. On Tuesday, officers responded to the Ottawa Street parking garage in downtown Joliet around 9:30 a.m. where two dogs were left inside a parked vehicle for about an hour. The temperature was 81 degrees at the time. Officers saw the windows were closed and there was no outside ventilation for the pair of dogs.

The owner, Richard P. Broderick, 52, of the 2000 block of Lake Avenue, Wilmette, was eventually located. He was cited for animal cruelty, a $300 citation, police said.

The second incident occurred over the noon hour Thursday in the Walmart parking lot on Jefferson Street, police said. There, a dog was left in an unattended parked vehicle. Officers said the window was cracked open about two inches. The owner, Donald Utke, 65, of the 34200 block of Lakeside Terrace in Wilmington, was later cited for leaving a dog in an unattended vehicle, which is also a $300 citation.

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