4 Dogs Die after Being Left in a Running Car with A/C on: Owner Charged with Felony Animal Cruelty

We’ve all seen the heartbreaking and maddening videos where people carelessly leave children or pets in the car or they simply forget there’s anyone else traveling with them. In the best cases, some caring passer-by will spot the situation and call for help before it’s too late, but not all endings are happy.

To avoid such tragedies, all sorts of devices, apps and car functions have been developed to remind parents to check car seats or give pet owners the option to leave the car running with the air conditioning on for their pets.

But such developments are not failsafe, and things can still go wrong despite the best of intentions.

In one tragic case last month, 25-year-old Tesia White traveled from Gainesville, 🌾Missouri, to New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

On May 26, she stopped at a restaurant to have lunch with her boyfriend, leaving her four dogs in the car.

White said she left her car running and the air conditioning on and checked on her pets at least once during her meal, but by the time she came out after finishing her lunch an hour later, all four dogs were unresponsive.

The charging affidavit revealed that the four dogs were Dora, a 4-year-old goldendoodle; Brandy, a 2-year-old boxer; and Lilo and Hiccup, two 12-week-old goldendoodle puppies.

Authorities later released the heartbreaking 911 call that the boyfriend made upon their horrible discovery.