JP Pitt Bull Animal Cruelty Case: Accused Man Missed Court

JAMAICA PLAIN, MA — The man who's Pitt Bull mix died after he was left in a pickup truck in JP on a hot August day was slated to be arraigned on animal cruelty charges but failed to show up to court, the District Attorney's office said. But he was a no show.

Travis Gustafson,31, was expected to be arraigned on animal cruelty charges Tuesday in West Roxbury Municipal Court. When he failed to show up, the judge issued an arrest warrant for Gustafson.

He's charged with allegedly leaving his dog in the truck, which lead to the dog's heatstroke and death.

On Aug. 1 around 3 p.m. a landscaper spotted the dog in the truck and called police and had the dog rushed to nearby MSPCA-Angell Animal Hospital, where died.

Typically what you do in a case of heat stroke or heat exhaustion for animals such as a dog is to cool the animal down with water or a cool towel.

"But the temperature of this dog had reached 109 plus," a spokesperson at Angell told the Patch at the time. "At 105 to 106, a dog with that kind of temperature has in almost every case suffered irreparable brain damage."

David Halpin of Angell said that emergency CPR had no impact and the dog, and it died within moments of arrival.

If Gustafson is convicted it would mean he could face up to seven years in prison and fines.

Last year, Gov. Charlie Baker signed a bill that allows for people to break into cars where pets are trapped in order to rescue them in certain circumstances.

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