One puppy was killed and three others were rescued in the nick of time last weekend after their owners left them in a hot car while they gorged at a Disney Springs restaurant as the temperature outside was a stifling 86, officials said.
The little Bernedoodles were sweltering in the locked, un-air-conditioned car — with only one window cracked — for 90 minutes before help arrived.
“It’s heartbreaking and infuriating for our staff and animal-loving community when pet owners make this mistake as preventable tragedy can and does occur,” Diane Summers, Manager of Orange County Animal Services (OCAS), said in a statement Wednesday.
OCAS rescuers rushed to the Disney Springs parking garage after a security guard noticed the puppies in distress.
One of the dogs, which are a cross between a Bernese mountain dog and poodle, was unresponsive by the time authorities arrived and had injuries so extreme that paramedics were forced to euthanize the suffering animal, the OCAS said.
Its three buddies were saved just in time and were able to make full recoveries after medical intervention.
The owner told authorities they had stopped at Disney Springs to have dinner with family that evening, “assuming the covered parking garage and cracking a window would be OK for the dogs.”
The temperature in the Orlando area that evening reached 86 degrees, meaning the inside temperature of the car likely skyrocketed to 102 degrees within just 10 minutes, according to the ASPCA.
The poor Bernedoodle’s were inside the stifling car for an hour and a half.
“People have this misconception that shade or cracking the window will alleviate any concerns of overheating, it’s simply not the case, an animal should never be left in a car, especially during the summer months of Florida,” said Summers.
The surviving dogs were taken away from the neglectful owner — who had recently bought the four from an Ohio breeder — and have since been adopted by the staff of the Reedy Creek Fire Department.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is still weighing whether or not to charge the owner for felony animal cruelty.
According to OCAS, the incident is the second in just two weeks.
On April 21, a 7-month-old Shih Tzu puppy was rescued from a 140-degree car while its careless owner shopped inside an Orlando Goodwill.
Fortunately, the pup was able to recover and was handed over to a rescue group.
