WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — A man was issued a summons after he left his dog unattended inside a truck while enjoying lunch in a restaurant Thursday.
According to the Wheat Ridge Police Department, community service officers were called out to the Applewood Village Shopping Center for a dog that was left unattended in a truck. The department said the back windows of the truck were cracked one inch.
When the call came in, it was 83 degrees outside. Officers used a digital thermometer and determined the internal temperature of the truck was between 91 and 93 degrees.
Wheat Ridge police found the dog's owner in a restaurant having lunch. The department said the owner told officers he had been in the restaurant for roughly 20 minutes.
The owner was issued a summons for two counts of animal cruelty/ inhumane treatment.
Record-breaking temperatures are expected in the Denver metro and across Colorado over the next several days. Wheat Ridge PD is urging pet owners to leave their animals at home when shopping or dining in the city.
"We will keep hammering this point until people realize it is not okay to leave your dogs in the car in this heat," the department said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
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This is the "third call of this nature" in Wheat Ridge over the past three weeks, according to the department. Alyssa Haden, field supervisor for Arapahoe County Animal Services, said they've also seen several animals left in hot cars.
"I would say right now, we're seeing at least one to two calls weekly," Haden told Denver7.
Dogs do not regulate their body temperature the same way humans do, which puts them at higher risk for heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Signs of heat exhaustion in dogs include panting, staggering, vomiting, and dark red or purple tongue, according to Haden.
If you do see a dog in a hot car, Haden said you should call 911.
"Some people are very shy about calling 911 but that's what we're here for. That is an emergency to us. We want to be able to get out there as soon as possible to kind of work through that situation," Haden said.
Under Colorado law, you are immune from civil and criminal liability if you forcibly enter a locked vehicle in order to help an at-risk person or animal. However, certain criteria must be met before entering a vehicle.
"So per the state law, before you break into a vehicle, you do have to do your due diligence to try to find an owner, especially if the dog is active, alert, out the window," Haden said.
However, if the dog is not alert and there is a fear it may lose its life, you may enter the vehicle.
"We want to use the least destructive way into the vehicle. Use those door handles. If those are locked, then we can break the window and extract the dog," Haden said.
If you do break the windows of a vehicle, you should stay at the scene until law enforcement arrives.
