Photo: Clearwater Police Department
A woman from Tennessee was arrested while on vacation in Florida after officers found her dog locked inside of her car. The Clearwater Police Department said they received a 911 call just before 5 p.m. on Tuesday (May 21) about a dog in distress.
When officers arrived, they found the dog locked in a car in a parking lot near the beach. It was about 90 degrees outside at the time.
While the windows were rolled down a few inches, the officers could see the dog panting, sweating, and struggling to stay awake. That's when one of the officers decided to shatter the front passenger side window so he could unlock the door and release the dog in the backseat.
The officers located the dog's owner, identified as 40-year-old Marie Rutherford, who admitted she left him in the car while she went to the beach. She thought it would be fine because she cracked the windows and left some water in the car.
Rutherford was then taken into custody and charged with animal cruelty.
Her dog was treated by a local veterinarian and then taken to animal control.