The Calgary Police Service (CPS) has charged a local woman after she left her dog to die in a hot car on Canada Day, forcing cops to smash a window in a failed rescue attempt.CPS said Thursday they responded to reports of a distressed dog in a car at about 5 p.m. on July 1 in the 0-100 block of Mount Copper Green S.E. Witnesses said the dog was panting so intensely the entire car was shaking and stopped responding to knocks on the window. When police arrived, they found the dog unresponsive on the floor of the vehicle. The car’s windows were up and the doors were locked. An officer broke a window to get to the unmoving canine, later identified as a female four-year-old Alaskan Malamute, German Shepherd mix named ‘Lucky’.Lucky was left in the hot car for more than two hours, investigators estimate. It was a sunny day and the temperature outside was approximately 20 C. s, 30, is charged with one count of causing damage or injury to an animal under section 446(1)(b) of the Criminal Code and one count of causing an animal to be in distress under section 2(1) of the Alberta Animal Protection Act.She will appear in court on August 2. “It boggles my mind that we continue to receive calls for service related to animals left in hot vehicles,” CPS District 8 Acting Insp. Scott Neilson said in a news release. “It should be common sense that leaving an animal in a hot vehicle is irresponsible and can have serious consequences, including death and charges, like what has happened in Lucky’s case. Lucky’s death was an avoidable tragedy, and I’m asking Calgarians to think of her the next time they consider leaving an animal inside of a car on a warm or hot day, even for a short period.”CPS alongside Calgary Humane Society wish to remind Calgarians “the temperature inside a vehicle can rise to dangerous levels in as little as a few minutes.” Leaving a window partially open or having water available for the dog do not lower the interior temperature of the vehicle. Animals should not be left alone inside a vehicle on a warm or hot day “even for a short time – they are safest at home," said the release. Calgary Humane Society Director of Enforcement and Vice Executive Director Brad Nichols advises Calgarians to “leave your dog at home - there are no excuses for leaving an animal unattended in a vehicle in hot weather.”“Dogs do not regulate body temperature like humans; they don’t sweat and are so much more susceptible to heat-related injury,” said Nichols. “What are you willing to lose? A windshield? A pet? Money to pay a fine? Your freedom due to incarceration? It’s all at risk if you decide to leave an animal in a car in the temperatures we are currently experiencing. We shouldn’t be fielding hundreds of these types of calls every summer. For the animal’s sake, if you see something, say something. You may be the only one advocating for that suffering animal.”CPS asks if anyone sees an animal left alone in a vehicle on a warm or hot day, the should immediately call 911 or the humane society at 403-205-4455 to report the location and the vehicle’s licence plate number, make and model.A picture on Facebook of the woman with many of her dogs has been confirmed. The Facebook account has since been deleted.
