Puppy Left in Car at Mall, While Temps Reach Near Record Highs
August 3rd, 2010 by Joe Burgess
Betty Jean Lewis, age 53 of Crossett (this is not the Betty Lewis that lives in Monticello), thought more of her “lovely nails” than her pet Schnauzer, yesterday afternoon around 3:10, as she left the little fellow inside of her Monte Carlo for over 20 minutes, with no air, and according to sources, no water.
Monticello Police and an animal control officer responded to the call, and Lewis came out of the nail salon, long enough to crank the vehicle and turn on the air conditioner, before going back into the business. Someone at the scene said, “when she came out, she didn’t even pick up the little pooch to pet, pamper, or apologize to him.”
Lewis was cited for “cruelty to an animal” for putting the pet through the smothering hot ordeal. Even though the passenger’s window was rolled down a couple of inches, the extra heat caused by the window tint would have added to the neglect.
Whenever someone would get close to the car, the dog would begin barking and running around the vehicle, and it wouldn’t have been safe to open the car, to let him out.
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WOW, feels like 106!
It’s TOOOOO HOTT!!!
Please Please Please make sure you keep your outside pets in a shaded area under trees, with plenty of water.
we need some rain and it is so very hot hot hot
ALL I KNOW IS ITS HOTTER THEN A PEPPER PUDDEN OUT THERE;)
The police should have made her sit in the car for 20 mins and made he endure what she made this puppy go through.
should have made that woman sit in her car with no air running. poor puppy.
should of taken the dog from her.
I agree with you, make her sit in the car with no air. Seriously, she was getting her nails done with the poor dog in the car? ONLY IN ARKANSAS….
That is horrible. I agree with the person who commented that she should have been made to sit in the car for 20 minutes with no air, or the dog should have been taken. She doesn’t deserve the dog. Bless his heart.
People amaze me how they treat their animals.
Sure hope this puppy was taken from her and will be put up for adoption for someone that cares about it.
There always a nut somewhere!
This womon should be made stay in the car for the same length of time with no air or no water. The dog should be taken away from her. She doesn’t deserve a pet.
Betty Jean Lewis should spend some time in an old fashioned prison hotbox to get a taste of what she gave to her dog.
Couldn’t authorities take the puppy away from this idiot?
It is extremely inhumane to leave your pet in the car. It takes only minutes for a pet left in a vehicle on a warm day to succumb to heatstroke and suffocation. Most people don’t realize how hot it can get in a parked car – on a 78 degree day, temperatures in a car parked car can hit a scorching 160 degrees if parked in the sun…so imagine how hot it gets in there in these 100 degree days. I applaud the people who called the police and animal control and I really hope this lady learned her lesson.
Kudos to the person who called the police.
Wow…how can someone do something like that and live with themselves? No compassion at all….poor dog!
We saw the same thing this past Sunday on the parking lot of a restaurant for lunch Sunday. Poor dog! It was barking for help and even though the windows were cracked it had to be smothering in there. Our pets need to be taken better care of than that or give them to someone who will treat them right. If you have to leave your pet in your car then you should stay home or leave the pet with someone else to take care of.
I’m glade the cops charged her. I bet ya’ the cops wanted to do more to her than leave her in a hot car.If she would do this to a puppy,who’s to say she wouldn’t leave a child in a HOT car.jmo LORD HELP US ALL!!!!! AND THE ANIMALS YOU GAVE US TO LOVE AND CARE FOR.
people like this have no soul and no concsience. even if they had taken the dog away, she would have just gotten another one. I hope she doesn’t have children. I have no patience with someone like this. YOU SHOULD NEVER LEAVE A PET OR A CHILD IN A CAR, LET ALONE ON A DAY AS HOT AS THIS. Shame on you Betty Lewis of Crossett, SHAME ON YOU, BETTY LEWIS OF CROSSETT.
I have 3 dogs and pet donkey.the donkoy is outside he gets better care than that puppy did may inside puppys gets betty care than most kids now days I
Same mentality as the men that ride their dogs in the back of a truck or in a dog box. Why would they ever think that an animal would get pleasure out of that. The bed of a truck has to be very painful to their paws(that is where they sweat)
I hate cruelty to animals, but this is a joke. There is a “non-profit” organization that keeps dog underr under terrible conditions. These animals routinely get out of the pen and kill other animals.They have threatened humans. These dogs are half starved and have mange. Nothing is done about this. What a joke!
she should have been made to sit in that hot car so she could feel what it was like to that puppy–she doesn’t deserve to keep it. some folks only think of themselves before they do anyone else or anything else. punishment fits the crime. shame smame on you!!!
Sometimes a pet/dog pen is as bad! What about those ppl who leave their dogs in the sweltering heat w algae filmed water!! Nothing to eat then they get offended when the neighbors step in?
Okay. This is ridiculous. Its a dog. Its hot outside but its not worth outrage. You don’t apologize to a dog. While there is genocide and war going on in the world, I don’t waste my energy on the plights of animals. She should have left him at home but its not worth the hostile tone of this article.
No…………..not worth all the hype. The woman is just an idiot that does not need an animal. Pure stupidity and selfishness. It may be “just a dog”, but I can tell you that I have 3 dogs which I care for dearly. And when I show them the care and compassion that I do, by doing the extra things that I take the time to do for them, believe me, they know it and they show me that they know who takes care of them. Fresh Food and water every day and plenty of shade. Try coming into my yard or house uninvited. That’s when my dogs will show me how much they appreciate what I do for them.
IN RESPONSE TO THE COMMENT PINX MADE: IF YOU ARE NOT A DOG OWNER/PET OWNER THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE KEPT YOUR COMMENTS TO YOURSELF…………..WHEREAS, WE, DOG OWNERS/PET OWNERS LOVE OUR ANIMALS AND YOU DON’T THEN MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS BECAUSE OUR ANIMALS HAVE FEELINGS JUST AS WE DO THEY JUST CAN’T SPEAK IT!!!!!!!!!!!! MY PET LIVES IN LUXURY MEANING HE STAYS IN THE HOME; RELAXES AND WATCHES TV; AND STAYS COOL IN THE SUMMERTIME AND WARM IN THE WINTERTIME.
It’s a DOG, people!!!!!! An animal!!! An animal can survive in the most extreme comditions. It’s was a dog left in the car, not a baby…thank God!!!! I see all the fuss if it were a baby, but a dog, come on!!!. I don’t care how you dress it, groom it, or kiss it( EWwww) it’s a DOG. You can treat it like it’s an human being but it’s a dog!!!!
Just wanted to say that sometimes people over react… (however, not in this situation). i love my dog very much and he has shade most of the time and a house to go into when there is no shade. he always has water and we feed him twice a day. Last week a concerned neighbor called the police because he was panting. It was 106 outside of course he was hot! he had water and the shade of his home which was shown to the animal control officer who came to my home to check out the situation. I was very irritated that someone could say we are not taking care of him because he was panting… instead of wasting the time of our city worker, they could have just checked with us.
To ‘Cruelty to Animals’: Ah, so it would be much better to allow those animals roam freely about the city, starving? Dead dogs in the street is always pleasant. Anyone who is trying their best to keep these animals from starving to death has my respect. Instead of judging, perhaps you should try to help? Maybe offer to assist in fixing the fence that aows the dogs to escape? Or maybe providing mange treatment? No, no, it is so much easier to make comments, complaining on a website and not actually DO anything.
As for Mrs. Lewis, hopefully she is ashamed of her actions Whether you care about animals or not, when you have a pet you’ve taken on the responsibility of treating it properly. If more people remembered that, maybe we wouldn’t have such a high number of strays needing care in the first place.
As to this overblown incident-we have one less shopper from Ashley County. Our officials always tell us when selling a new tax that a large part comes from adjacent counties – now we probably have one less shopper and from word-of mouth there will be several less.
Your right trottergirl, its a dog. But when you decide to have a pet you should be held accountable for taking care of it. Just because its an animal should it matter if your cruel or not to it? I dont dress my dogs in clothes and dont groom them but do bathe them, make sure they have shade and water and they sleep in the house at night.
How about this, the next time a dog gets into your trash or chases someone in your neighborhood, dont call the dog catcher because after all, its just a dog and thats what dogs do.
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It really agitates me that people say things like “it’s just a dog”. A dog is a living being and should garner the same respect as any other animal. Even if you are not a dog person or don’t understand how people can love their animal like children you SHOULD understand that cruelty is wrong. If this woman has so little disregard for this living being what makes you think that she wouldn’t do this to a child.