Dog Dies After Being Left in Car for Five Hours

ODESSA, TX – An Odessa man was arrested Sunday after his dog died when it was left in a hot car for five hours.

According to CBS 7, on June 6, officers with the Odessa Police Department were dispatched to the 5200 block of East University at 12:40 p.m. to conduct an animal welfare check.

When the officers arrived they discovered a dog that had been locked in the back of a vehicle with all the windows rolled up. Officers were able to get the doors open but it was too late. Police say the dog died shortly after.

While officers were attending to the dog a man, later identified as Christopher Lee Penn, 23, approached the officers claiming that the dog and car was his. OPD quickly learned that the dog had been in the car for around 5 hours.

Penn was then arrested and charged with cruelty to non-livestock animals, a Class A Misdemeanor. 

At the time of the incident the temperature outside was around 90 degrees. In a car with the windows rolled up temperatures can turn from 90 degrees into 125 degrees in just 30 minutes.