A Pensacola woman is charged with animal cruelty after deputies say she left her dog in a hot vehicle.
Someone in the Toys R Us parking lot on North Davis Highway called 911 Wednesday afternoon after seeing a white dog in the back of a Jeep.
A deputy with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded and found the windows partially rolled down, but the dog was panting heavily and frothing at the mouth. No food or water was visible.
The deputy and some colleagues entered Toys R Us and other stores and made announcements for the owner of the Jeep to come out.
After multiple attempts to contact the driver, the deputy entered the Jeep through a door that was unlocked. He placed the dog in his air-conditioned patrol car and gave it some water.
At the time of the incident, it was 85 degrees in Pensacola. The deputy took readings inside the Jeep and found the inside temperature to be over 110 degrees in some places.
The owner, identified as Bette Lunsford, eventually came out of the store and was arrested for animal cruelty.
