Agonizing heat death

Hunting dog died in dog box during shopping trip

The mountain dog died in a similar box on the loading area of the car (symbolic images).

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com)

On Monday, a 35-year-old professional soldier and hunter was put on trial at Salzburg Provincial Court. The charge was cruelty to animals. On April 8, 2024 in Bischofshofen, the man allegedly left his Bavarian mountain dog in a metal box on the back of his pick-up truck at 25 degrees outside. The three-year-old dog died.

He had only parked briefly on the open parking deck of a shopping center in the late afternoon and had been gone for "plus or minus" 20 minutes, the man told the judge. He had even considered parking under cover. "But because it was cloudy and I couldn't find a parking space downstairs, I didn't think it would be a problem." He reached into the dog crate when he left the car. "But it wasn't hot there and the dog wasn't panting or anything. And I knew that the shopping wouldn't take long."

While the man was running his errands, two witnesses became aware of the animal in the box. "The dog was barking, but it didn't sound like normal barking," one of the two women described during the trial. It was warm in the summer. "Because it wasn't clear how long the dog had been in the box, we called the police." The officers arrived at the car almost at the same time as the dog owner.

Tips for dog owners

• Never leave your pets in the car in spring and especially summer when the outside temperature is high.
• In extreme outside temperatures, it is best to avoid car journeys with your dog altogether and, if possible, postpone them until the cooler morning and evening hours. If car journeys cannot be avoided, make sure that your dog always has plenty of fresh drinking water available; as already mentioned, dogs cool themselves by panting and this in turn makes them thirsty.
• A vehicle parked in the shade or with the window slightly open is also dangerous for your dog, even the heat radiation from the surroundings can heat up your car considerably, and the position of the sun also changes.

Cardiac massage could no longer save the four-legged friend
"He then pulled the dog out of the box, but the dog was no longer moving. He started a cardiac massage, but to no avail," the witness described. She was very angry with the defendant at the time because the dog was suffering. "I wanted to say something to him, but then there was so much pain in his voice. He was really upset and kept calling the dog's name and trying to resuscitate it."

The previously blameless family man pleaded not guilty at the trial. "I'm sorry that this happened. This will haunt me for the rest of my life. I hope for all other dog owners that this doesn't happen to them."

(Bild: stockadobe.com)

Even a small gap can't cool things down!
The prosecutor had previously criticized the fact that the dog box was painted black on the loading area, only had holes on the back wall and prevented an effective draught. "You know that opening a car window just a crack does not prevent high temperatures in the vehicle," she asked the 35-year-old. "The box probably heated up considerably in a short space of time during the drive to the shopping center."

He had relied on the professional dog crate he had purchased just three weeks before the incident, the defendant defended himself. "But I wouldn't use it like that again," he admitted. There may have been another reason for the death of his pet, he said during the trial. Contrary to what was discussed with the police, he did not take the dog to a vet after the incident. "I was shocked. And rigor mortis had already set in," he says today.

The court acquitted the 35-year-old of the charge of cruelty to animals. The verdict is not final.