Two dogs left locked inside a car with temperatures soaring to more than 100 degrees are up for adoption after they were rescued Monday in Indio when a Riverside County Sheriff’s deputy smashed out the vehicle’s windows to save them.
The two 9-month-old terrier mixes were taken to an animal hospital near the county courthouse in Indio, where they were found inside a Smart car around 2:15 p.m. by animal control officers. The temperature inside the car was higher than 130 degrees, officials said.
They immediately drank the water they were offered and their temperatures were able to regulate, according to a statement from the Riverside County Department of Animal Services.
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"Anyone in their right mind should know that you don't leave an animal in a car on a day like today," said Rita Gutierrez, Riverside County Animal Services commander, in a statement.
The dogs’ owner will be cited for leaving the dogs in the hot car, officials said. It is illegal in California to leave an animal alone inside a vehicle in conditions that might cause harm, including extreme heat or cold.
The owner on Tuesday brought the dogs to the Coachella Valley Animal Campus in Thousand Palms where they are up for adoption.
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One dog is female with a fluffy white coat named Simba. The other is a male, with a shorter, curly, black coat named Scar.
The dogs’ adoptions fees are $105 each, which includes their spay/neuter surgeries, vaccinations and microchips. Riverside County Animal Services wants prospective adopters to understand that the dogs should be adopted as a package deal to keep them together.
