PENSACOLA, Fla. (CNN/WTRF) — A heartbreak scene unfolded in a Florida Walmart parking lot Thursday.
A dog is now dead after being locked inside a white Toyota Camry.
The high temperature for Pensacola Thursday was 87 degrees but officials say it felt closer to 100 degrees.
The owner is identified as Crystal Marie Houk and authorities are charing her with one count of Animal Cruelty, a third-degree felony.
Houk told deputies she left the A/C running but a Walmart employee says once he opened the door, hot air was blowing.
You’ve got a high temperature, in the middle of the summer. You’ve got a closed door, and you’ve got hot air blowing on an animal like that, and ultimately, this is what happens.
Chief Deputy Chip Simmons, Escambia County Sheriffs Office
Houk also reported she wasn’t in the store for long but surveillance camera show the dog was left inside the car for about three hours.
Animal control tried to take the temperature of the animal itself, and found that the temperature of the animal pegged out the thermometer that they were trying to use.
Chief Deputy Chip Simmons, Escambia County Sheriffs Office
The thermometer stopped working when it hit 107 degrees.
Houk is currently out of jail on bond. She has a court appearance on September 12.
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