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Last updated on Monday, September 8, 2014
(BLOOMINGTON) - A Bloomington man who is facing a charge of animal cruelty turned himself in at the Monroe County Jail Thursday afternoon.
27-year-old Alex D. Snowberger, an employee of BloomingPaws veterinarian clinic and pet day care, was booked into the Monroe County Jail at 2:32 p.m. Thursday on a misdemeanor charge of cruelty to an animal. He was released from jail about 50 minutes later after posting a $2,000 surety, $500 cash bond.
Snowberger told police he left his German shepherd in his car while he was at work.
The dog died of heat exhaustion as temperatures reached 86 degrees.
According to Bloomington Police Sgt. Joe Crider, Snowberger had let both dogs play outside of the car before learning he could only take one of the dogs inside. He then put the larger dog, a 14-month-old German shepherd, named Hugo, back into his 2006 Ford Taurus. The dog remained in the vehicle for almost five hours.
The man returned to his car to check on his dog only to find that the dog was not breathing and that he had forgotten to roll the windows down.
In an interview with the BPD, a female co-worker reported that Hugo's owner appeared panicked and upset about the incident.
Upon examining the dog and confirming that he was deceased, the co-worker helped the owner remove him from the car and place him in the freezer at Blooming Paws.
Police are warning motorists that animals should never be left unattended inside vehicles for extensive periods of time, even if the windows are rolled down. In warm weather, vehicles are often hotter than the outside temperature.
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