Last weekend, one puppy died and three others died after their owner left them in a hot car in a stifling 86-degree weather while eating them at a Disney Springs restaurant. Officials announced that he was rescued.
The little Bernedoodles spent 90 minutes sweltering in a locked, unair-conditioned car with only one window broken until help arrived.
Orange County Animal Services (OCAS) Manager Diane Summers said, “Preventable tragedies can and do happen, so when pet owners make mistakes like this, our staff This is heartbreaking and upsetting for the animal-loving community.” stated in a statement Wednesday.
A security guard noticed the puppies in distress and OCAS rescuers rushed to the Disney Springs parking lot.
OCAS said one of the animals, a Bernese mountain dog and poodle cross, was unresponsive by the time authorities arrived and had sustained severe injuries, so emergency personnel had to euthanize it.
The three companions were rescued in the nick of time and were able to make a full recovery after medical intervention.
The dog’s owner told authorities he had stopped at Disney Springs that night to have dinner with his family, but “thought the dog would be fine with covered parking and breaking windows.”
Temperatures in the Orlando area that night reached 86 degrees. That means the temperature inside the car could have soared to 102 degrees in just 10 minutes. According to the ASPCA.
The poor Barndoodles were stuck in the stuffy car for an hour and a half.
“Some people have a misconception that providing shade or cracking the windows will reduce the risk of overheating, but that’s simply not the case. Especially during the Florida summer, animals should not be left in the car. It shouldn’t be left alone,” Summers said.
The surviving dogs were taken in by a neglectful owner who had recently purchased the four from a breeder in Ohio, and then taken in by Reedy Creek Fire Department personnel.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is still considering whether to charge the owner with felony animal cruelty.
According to OCAS, this is the second incident in the past two weeks.
On April 21st, a 7-month-old Shih Tzu puppy was rescued from a 140-degree tilt by its careless owner while shopping inside the Orlando Goodwill.
Fortunately, the puppy was able to recover and was handed over to a rescue organization.
