Casino Visitor Allegedly Leaves 15 Dogs in Hot Car

Posted on: August 17, 2023, 07:00h. 

Last updated on: August 17, 2023, 12:38h.

Fifteen dogs, mostly puppies, were recently left alone in a parked car at a California gaming property where the owner apparently went gambling.

While the owner was in the unnamed casino, a good Samaritan spotted the animals and notified authorities, according to Los Angeles TV station KNBC.

The dogs were rescued, but their health was at risk from the sweltering temperatures.

It was not immediately known if the owner was charged.

On Sunday evening, the dogs were placed with a shelter, called the spcaLA South Bay Pet Adoption Center, in Hawthorne, Calif.

The five females and 10 males, which are a terrier-chihuahua mix, are available for adoption. Most are white, the rest are black.

Between Wednesday and Sunday, adopting a pet is free at the spcaLA shelters in an effort to get animals placed with a family. The spcaLA reports there are 60% more animals in its shelters now than there were last August.

Prior Incidents

Dogs left in vehicles is a problem nationwide.

On July 14, in the gambling mecca of Atlantic City, a dog and cat were left in a vehicle in a parking garage. The pets were in the car for hours without any air conditioning and the windows rolled up. The animals weren’t given water during their confinement.

The two animals were spotted by a passerby. Their owner, Thomas Cabot, 53, of Brooklyn, NY, was charged with third-degree cruelty to animals, police said.

Police officers rescued the animals, and they were treated by health professionals, according to Trenton, N.J. radio station WKXW.

Also last month, at Rhode Island’s Bally’s Twin River Lincoln casino, a visitor to the gaming property was arrested after she allegedly left a dog for hours in a sweltering car.

The dog perished while confined in the vehicle. Police identified the car’s owner as Young Ju Seol of Hopkinton, Mass.

The dog was left in the vehicle for several hours without water or air conditioning. The windows were closed. Outside temperatures were near 80 degrees that day.

Casino security guards first noticed that the car’s windows were covered with condensation. The brake lights were on too. The guards then notified Lincoln police.

An officer arrived and forced open the car only to discover the dead dog on the driver’s side floor, Rhode Island TV station WJAR reported.

Police charged Young with one count of malicious injury or killing of animals and a count of animal confinement in motor vehicles.

Warning to Pet Owners

The recent incidents remind pet owners nationwide about the risks to animals from being in a vehicle when temperatures are high or even warm.

On a warm day, temperatures inside a vehicle can rise rapidly to dangerous levels,” Jessica Simpson, public policy specialist at the Humane Society of the United States, previously told Casino.org.

On an 85-degree day, the temperature inside a car with the windows opened slightly can reach 102 degrees within 10 minutes, Simpson said.

“After 30 minutes, the temperature will reach 120 degrees, and the pet may suffer irreversible organ damage, seizures, or die,” she warned.