NAHANT — Steven Cleary had his two dogs taken after he left them inside a car last week, and he is now headed to court.
The 58-year-old Nahant resident was issued a summons to appear in Newburyport District Court on two counts of animal cruelty. A Newburyport police officer said that Cleary left the dogs in a Jeep so long Tuesday afternoon that they were in serious distress and needed to be brought to a veterinarian for immediate treatment.
Nahant Board of Selectmen Chairman Josh Antrim said that while it might seem obvious, pet owners are reminded that they need to look out for their animals in hot weather.
“Obviously, we need to take good care of our pets,” he said. “They can’t take care of themselves.”
State law says that anyone convicted of cruelty to animals faces up to seven years in prison or two-and-a-half years in a house of corrections. Offenders can also be fined up to $5,000 and lose custody of the animals.
The two dogs, a Newfoundland and a Labrador, were panting heavily and drooling. Two windows were slightly lowered but there was no water inside, and one of the dogs was leashed in a way that did not allow it to lie down, according to Police Chief Craig Bailey.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, cracking open the windows of a car will do very little or nothing to reduce the temperature inside the vehicle. Temperatures in a car can rise almost 20 degrees in just 10 minutes, and in one hour the inside temperature can be more than 40 degrees higher than outside.
With Massachusetts experiencing its fourth heat wave, Antrim said that Nahant is in a unique situation to help cool off during the summer.
“Aside from a lot of grumbling and jumping in the water a couple of times a day when I get too hot,” Antrim said, “we’re lucky to have relief close by here in Nahant, where most of us can jump in the water and cool off when we need to.”
