2 women facing charges after dogs die in 130-degree car in Bridgewater, police say

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. — Two women are facing cruelty charges after a pair of dogs were found dead in a scorching hot car in Bridgwater on Wednesday, police said.

A 59-year-old woman and a 32-year-old woman, whose names haven’t been released, will be summoned to Brockton District Court at a later time to face charges of cruelty to animals and confinement of an animal in a motor vehicle causing exposure to extreme heat, according to Bridgewater Police Chief Christopher Delmonte.

Officers responding to 911 calls reporting two women who were screaming and crying outside of a condo building on Heather Lane found two medium-sized dogs dead on concrete steps near the home, Delmonte announced Thursday.

A preliminary investigation revealed that the women left the dogs, a 4-year-old doodle male and a 2-year-old doodle female, in a vehicle for more than 90 minutes, with temperatures inside soaring to at least 130 degrees, according to Delmonte. He said the windows were closed and the air conditioner wasn’t running.

Delmonte noted that the dogs had also been living in unsanitary conditions inside the home.

“This is a heartbreaking and entirely preventable tragedy,” Delmonte said in a statement. “No pet should ever be left in a vehicle on a warm day in direct sunlight, even for a few minutes. Temperatures inside a car can rise to deadly levels in a matter of minutes, even with the windows cracked. We urge everyone to think twice and take the necessary steps to protect their pets from extreme heat.”

Michael Defina from the Animal Rescue League of Boston says these incidents aren’t rare at all,

“To have it happen in this fashion I would say is very rare,” Defina said, “we’re still seeing this type of situation sadly happen.”

Over the last decade, they’ve launched a summer-long initiative called ‘too hot for spot,’ warning about these very cases.

“We actually had a public demonstration just this past week where it was overcast with temperatures in the low 80’s and in less than 10 minutes the temperatures inside the vehicle went up to about 115 degrees.”

Bridgewater Animal Control took custody of the dogs and transported them to an animal medical center for a necropsy.

An investigation remains ongoing.

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