A New Hampshire woman is being charged with animal cruelty after her dog was left in a hot car over the weekend and died.
Portsmouth police said they were called to the parking lot outside Bed Bath & Beyond and Christmas Tree Shops at 100 Durgin Lane on Sunday for a report of an unresponsive dog in a vehicle. When they arrived, officers found a Terrier mix in a vehicle with the windows up, where it had apparently been left for several hours. The dog was already dead by the time they arrived.
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The temperature outside was in the mid-70s at the time, but the temperature inside the vehicle was 125. Police found a small bowl of food and a very small amount of water on the rear passenger seat.
The dog's owner, 52-year-old Susan Weilbrenner, of Tamworth, was arrested at the scene and charged with cruelty to animals and a violation of the law governing animals in motor vehicles.
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She was released on personal recognizance bail and is scheduled to appear in court on July 17.
Police said leaving a dog in a closed vehicle -- even for a short time -- can be deadly. They said it only takes 20 minutes for the interior of a vehicle to reach over 100 degrees on a 70-degree day.