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Houston Woman Arrested For Leaving Puppy In Car
Dog's Owner Charged With Animal Cruelty

GALVESTON, Texas -- Galveston police arrested a woman for leaving her puppy in a locked, hot car, News2Houston reported Monday.

Denise Riley, 49, was charged with animal cruelty for allegedly leaving a 12-week-old puppy inside her vehicle around 2 p.m. Saturday while she stopped for lunch at the International House of Pancakes on the Seawall.

Someone spotted the dog and called police.

"The officer noticed the dog was very hot and got the dog out of the vehicle, gave it water, and attempted to locate the owner of the vehicle, which he did," said Lt. Walter Braun, with the Galveston Police Department. "The report states that it was 123 degrees in the vehicle at the time he got the dog out." According to witnesses, the puppy had been inside the hot car for about 20 minutes.

Even though the windows were cracked, experts said it was still a dangerous situation.

"They're kind of in the same category with children. You don't carry your animals with you and then shut them in the car, so you can run in the store. Even cracking the window, the temperature in the car is going to be just
deadly, " said an official with the Galveston Animal Shelter.

Seizure papers have been filed, so the puppy will probably not be returned to Riley. The puppy recovered from the incident and was not permanently harmed,
officials said.

It's the second time in the past week Galveston police have arrested someone for leaving an animal in a hot car.

The owners face a $5,000 fine and up to a year in jail.
 

Judge Convicts Vet Of Killing Neighbor's Dog
Man Faces Up To 2 Years In Jail, $10,000 Fine

FORT WORTH, Texas -- A judge in Fort Worth Tuesday convicted a veterinarian of animal cruelty for killing a miniature dachshund with a log-splitting mallet.

Mircea Volosen is accused of beating his neighbor's miniature dachshund to death with a mallet.
The 2003 incident happened when the dog got into the vet's yard.

Mircea Volosen of Colleyville had waived a jury trial.

He faces a maximum two years in jail and a $10,000 fine.

A presentencing investigation is expected to take 30 days.

Defense attorney Bryan Buchanan told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that his client is in shock and feels he had a right to protect his property.

The dog's owner, Kevin Ball, testified his pet, Ginger, had escaped his yard several times.

Ball said he apologized when Ginger ran into Volosen's back yard last summer, then watched in disbelief as his neighbor bludgeoned the dog.

Ball has filed a lawsuit against Volosen, who works in Plano.