A Pensacola woman is charged with animal cruelty after she is accused of leaving her dog inside a hot car for hours.
The heartbreaking scene, unfolded in the Walmart parking lot off Highway 29. It was all caught on camera by Shelia Anderson Kennedy.
The female Pitbull mix, pronounced dead by animal control officers after they say it was locked inside a Toyota Camry on Thursday. The high in Pensacola that day was 89 degrees; the "feels like" temperature was closer to 100.
The dog's owner, identified as Crystal Marie Houk, was audibly inconsolable as deputies checked out the back seat.
Houk is charged with one count of animal cruelty - a third degree felony. According to an arrest report, she told deputies she left the air conditioner running, but a Walmart employee says when he opened the door hot air was blowing.
"You've got a high temperature in the middle of the summer," said Escambia County Chief Deputy Chip Simmons. "You've got a closed door, and you've got hot air blowing on an animal like that, and ultimately, this is what happens."
Houk maintained she was not in the store long. However, surveillance cameras allegedly show the dog was left inside the car, from about 9:00 that morning to noon.
"Animal control tried to take the temperature of the animal itself, and found that the temperature of the animal pegged out the thermometer they were trying to use," said Simmons.
The thermometer stopped working when it hit 107 degrees
Here is the complete video taken by an animal advocate.