SOUTHINGTON, Conn. — A Connecticut woman is facing a charge of cruelty to animals after police said her dog died after she left it in a car outside of a library for hours.
Suzy Rivers turned herself into Southington police Tuesday, officers said in a news release.
Investigators said that Rivers initially called police on June 29, telling officers that her dog was inside her car and not moving. Her car had been parked outside of the Southington Library.
Officers who responded to the scene found the dog, a one-and-a-half-year-old Boston Terrier, dead inside of the vehicle, WTNH reported.
In a news release, police said “Rivers’ vehicle was found to be parked in full sunlight with an outside temperature of 81 degrees.” When officers measured the temperature inside the car, they recorded temperatures between 99 and 105 degrees.
Investigators determined that the dog had been left in the car for more than three hours while Rivers was inside the library, WTNH reported.
Police said in their news release that library employees became suspicious after seeing that Rivers’ dog had been moved outside the vehicle and was dead. Officers noted that the vehicle’s rear window had been lowered approximately six inches.
Boston Terriers have flat faces, which can cause them to have difficulty breathing when exposed to excessive heat or humidity, according to the American Kennel Club.
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