Police track down owner of sweltering dog in vehicle after parking lot confrontation, issue animal abuse, traffic tickets

Winnipeg police ticketed a man accused of leaving his dog locked in his vehicle in a grocery store parking lot during the intense heat earlier this week, then attacking bystanders who were concerned about the animal’s welfare.

It’s not uncommon for city police to be contacted about pets left locked in cars during heat waves, but typically those calls don’t escalate to the extent of the incident Wednesday afternoon, said Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Claude Chancy.

“It definitely comes up every time we have heat events in the city, we do get concerned citizens calling about pets being left in vehicles, even for a short period of time,” said Chancy.

“Typically, what will happen is that the owner or the caretaker of the pet will present themselves to police and proper, appropriate advice is given about the care of these animals — this is definitely an extreme case.”

Police patrol officers were called to the Safeway parking lot on the 600 block of Osborne Street at about 1 p.m. Wednesday, after bystanders saw the German shepherd in distress in the vehicle.

Several gave the “thirsty, distressed” dog cold water through a crack in the window before being confronted by the owner, who responded to a store announcement requesting help for the pet. He then went back into the store to continue shopping, police said.

The bystanders continued to try to help the dog. The temperature was about 30 C with a humidex value of 43 C at the time.

The man returned to his vehicle and was “belligerent” with the bystanders, before hitting one of them with his vehicle, reversing into a parked pickup truck and driving off at a high speed, police said.

Officers identified the suspect and went to his nearby residence, where they found the dog tied up in the backyard and were met by the man, who was still acting belligerently, police said.

Chancy said the incident was concerning for police.

“You’ve got an animal that is not being taken care of… plus you have the added issues with the bystanders and the careless driving by the suspect,” he said.

A 67-year-old man has been issued several tickets under the Highway Traffic Act and under the Animal Care Act, including for inflicting suffering, anxiety or distress to an animal, failing to ensure adequate food or water for an animal, and failing to provide an animal with reasonable protection from injurious heat or cold.

His name has not been made public.

Carly Peters, a spokeswoman for the Winnipeg Humane Society, said it was disheartening to learn of the incident, adding the organizations frequently receives similar reports when the temperature spikes.

“Whenever an animal is in the way of harm, it’s always sad to hear,” she said. “But it’s more common than we’d like. To our animal welfare line, we tend to get multiple calls a day in heat like this, that people are leaving their dogs in vehicles.”

Dogs are not able to regulate temperature the way humans do and can quickly overheat, she said.

“A few minutes in a hot car can be harmful to them. High temperatures can cause risk of heat stroke, brain damage and, in some cases, death,” she said. “It’s probably best, on hot, hot days, to leave your pets at home.”

Peters suggested people who come across distressed animals locked in vehicles to either call the humane society’s emergency line at 204-982-2020 or police, after noting the location, vehicle details and a description of the pet, including whether the animal appears to be in distress.

She also suggested, if it’s in a busy public place, to attempt to find the owner of the animal, if another bystander is able to stay near the vehicle.

“We do want to caution that people should not break windows of vehicles or take animals, as it’s actually considered theft. Your best bet is to call us, call the police,” she said.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca