Police rescue dog left in hot car in 92-degree weather

Puppy, found left in hot car, rescued by police

A Florida woman was arrested for animal cruelty after leaving her dog in a hot car while shopping in a store. Police rescued the dog from the hot car, giving her water and taking her into their air-conditioned patrol vehicle. The dog's owner claimed she wasn't gone long and that she was waiting in line. 

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. - A puppy was rescued from a hot car in the Florida heat after officers determined the dog was left in the car for at least 40 minutes.

The dog's owner, who told police she was "standing in line," was arrested on the scene for animal cruelty. 

A puppy was rescued from a locked hot car in Lady Lake, Florida. (Source: Lake Lake Police Department)

What we know:

Officers with the Lady Lake Police Department, in Lake County, responded to a shopping center on U.S. Highway 27/441 in the Five Below parking lot, around 2:25 p.m. on May 16, after receiving a report that a dog was left in the car. Police arrived to find a young black puppy in the front seat of the car, which was turned off with the windows cracked. 

The outside temperature was 92 degrees, police said. 

Officers described the dog as being in the direct sunlight without any shade with her tongue "belled out" and extended. She was crying and scratching in the window trying to escape, police said. 

The officers used an Asp baton to open the door to the car and coax the dog out. She drank an entire bottle of water and seemed to want more, police said. Soon after, the dog was taken into the air-conditioning of the officers' patrol vehicle. 

Ten minutes after officers rescued the dog, the dog's owner – later identified as Yeneese Morejon, 26 – came out of the store telling police "the line was long," and she was only gone for "30 seconds." 

Morejon was placed under arrest and transported to the Lake County Jail for animal cruelty charges. 

Watch: Full body camera footage

Puppy rescued after left in hot car in Florida heat | Body camera

Body camera footage from the Lady Lake Police Department shows the rescue of a puppy after she was left in a car turned off in an unshaded area of shopping plaza parking lot. Officers saved the dog, giving her water before taking her into their air conditioned vehicle. 

What they're saying:

Police warn owners that temperatures inside a vehicle can increase quickly, saying, "Leaving an animal inside a vehicle in Florida heat, even for a short time, can quickly become fatal."

"It's a pretty dangerous temperature for a dog, especially the temperature rises so quickly in vehicles," Lady Lake Police Chief Steve Hunt told FOX 35's Alexus Cleavenger. "… We're hopeful that people will be more mindful and be responsible."