A Michigan woman has been arrested after allegedly leaving her dog in a freezing vehicle overnight in Upstate New York.
Arianna Harvey, 28, of Flint, Mich., was arrested Jan. 1, New York State Police announced Tuesday. Troopers said they responded around 7:41 a.m. on New Year’s Day to a report of an animal left in a vehicle without a heat source in the town of Queensbury.
An investigation determined that Harvey left the dog inside the vehicle while temperatures dropped well below freezing on New Year’s Eve, police said.
The dog was uninjured and released back to Harvey.
Harvey was charged with an agriculture & markets law violation under 352-D, Confinement of companion animals in vehicles: extreme temperatures. She was issued a ticket to appear in Queensbury Town Court on Jan. 12 and released.
According to the American Kennel Club, pets should never be left alone in a car on a hot summer day or in extreme cold conditions during the winter. Cars have little to no insulation and it can be dangerous to assume a dog’s fur will be enough to protect them from developing frostbite or hypothermia, leading to cardiac and respiratory failure, brain damage, coma, and even death, the AKC said.
“State Police urges the public to never leave an animal in a motor vehicle during extreme temperatures (heat or cold),” a NYS Police press release said.
Queensbury is located in Warren County, about 55 miles north of Albany in the Adirondack Mountains region.