Murfreesboro Police say that a Woodbury couple who left their dog in a hot car without the A/C running are now in trouble with the law.

The incident occurred in the Walmart parking lot on South Rutherford Boulevard. Authorities say that the vehicle was parked in a handicap space near the front of the store. Outside... the temperature was 92 degrees.

As for the car in question, witnesses told police the vehicle had already been sitting stationary for at least five minutes. Inside, there was no water and the windows were not even cracked open.

When no one arrived at the car within the next ten minutes, the responding officer paged the owner of the vehicle on the Walmart intercom.
A police report stated, "The dog began to pant excessively and due to the emergency circumstances, Officer Stamps made entry into the vehicle Via a motorist lock-out kit and removed the dog from the vehicle. The dogs fur was hot and the dog was still panting excessively."

The dog was placed inside an air-conditioned patrol car and given two 16-ounce bottles of cold water. The dog drank both while sitting with an officer.

An MPD Officers armed with an infrared temperature reading device took readings in two areas of the car. In the back seat, where the dog was located, the temperature reading rang in at 124 degrees. Another area of the car was calculated to be 134 degrees.

35 minutes after the first officer arrived on the scene, Mr. Thomas Parriott and Carol Parriott returned to their car. Both Mr. and Mrs. Parriott received a citation for Animal Cruelty.

Source:

MPD Incident 19-0014543