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ARCHIVED - Dog dies in scorching car in Spain while owners have lunch
The Yorkshire terrier suffocated in the stifling Spanish heat before help arrived
It’s fairly common knowledge that vehicles become virtual saunas when left sitting in the sun, the internal temperature capable of easily rising 10 or 15 degrees in a very short space of time. This snippet of knowledge escaped one pet owner in the town of Parres in Asturias, who left her two small dogs locked in the car while she went to a restaurant for lunch with two companions on September 4.
By utter coincidence, a couple of off-duty police officers from Avila were eating at the same establishment, and noticed the vehicle in the car park. Upon closer inspection, they realised the two dogs, small Yorkshire terriers, were showing signs of heatstroke on the scorching day, and immediately notified their colleagues in the Gijon Guardia Civil.
In the meantime, the owner was alerted, but she took another 15 minutes to leave the restaurant despite the emergency situation. Another quick-thinking passer-by called a veterinarian who immediately rushed to the scene. He was in time to save the life of one of the dogs but sadly, it was too late for the other, who had suffocated in the heat.
A statement was taken from the owner, who will face charges of animal abuse. The new Animal Protection Law has ramped up the penalties for neglect which results in the death of a pet, so she could be looking at up to three years behind bars and a ban from owning other animals.
According to the Guardia Civil officers who attended the scene, the outside temperatures were at 30ºC that day, meaning that the heat inside the car would have reached as high as 49ºC within 30 minutes.
Also of interest: Creature Comforts: rules for keeping pets in rental properties in Spain
Image: Guardia Civil
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