Dog Left in Car Dies; Owner Charged with Animal Cruelty

By Gary Jeanfaivre

A Yorkie-Chihuahua mix was found dead in a car in Woodbridge on Wednesday after the owner left the dog there with the windows rolled up for an hour, police said.

“At the time of the incident (4 p.m.), the weather was sunny and approximately 90 degrees,” a police report states.

The owner, Tiffany July-Lindo, of Waterbury, was charged with one count of cruelty to animals.

Dr. Sheldon Yessenow, a veterinarian in Stratford, talked to Patch in 2011 about the dangers of leaving a pet in the car during extremely warm weather.

“Animals can overheat very easily,” he said. “They don’t perspire like humans do.”

Yessenow explained that cats and dogs sweat mostly by panting and, to a lesser degree, through the pads on their paws. The heat and humidity that has blanketed the area intensifies the potential danger, he noted.

“You don’t want to leave your dog or cat in the car -- even with the windows down,” the Stratford vet said.

He spoke of how the temperature in a parked car can quickly rise to upwards of 140 degrees in a matter of minutes.