EPD Reminder: It is Illegal to Leave Your Pet in a Hot Car

Evansville Police Department posted a reminder to their Facebook page today, it is illegal to leave your pet in a hot car. Even though right now the humidity is low, as EPD points out it's still in the 80's which in a car temperatures can rise very high. They also wanted to remind everyone that it is illegal to leave a dog in the car unattended.

Don't let the low humidity fool you, the high today is supposed to be 87! It's starting to get hot outside. Please remember DO NOT leave your dog in a hot car. It is against the law.
Indiana Code 35-46-3-7
Abandonment or neglect of vertebrate animals; defense
Sec. 7.
(a) A person who:
(1) has a vertebrate animal in the person’s custody; and
(2) recklessly, knowingly, or intentionally abandons or neglects the animal; commits cruelty to an animal, a Class A misdemeanor. However, except for a conviction under section 1 of this chapter, the offense is a Level 6 felony if the person has a prior unrelated conviction under this chapter.
(b) It is a defense to a prosecution for abandoning a vertebrate animal under this section that the person who had the animal in the person’s custody reasonably believed that the vertebrate animal was capable of surviving on its own.
(c) For purposes of this section, an animal that is feral is not in a person’s custody. As added by P.L.193-1987, SEC.10. Amended by P.L.171-2007, SEC.8; P.L.111-2009, SEC.12; P.L.158-2013, SEC.558.
Evansville Municipal Code
6.05.040 Prohibited acts.
(A) No person shall do the following prohibited acts:
(13) Leave an animal unattended in a vehicle when conditions in that vehicle would constitute a health hazard to the animal.

If you happen to be out and see an animal locked in a hot car here's a few steps you can take to help the dog from HumaneSociety.org.

Take down the car make/model and license plate.
If there's a business nearby, notify security or a manager of what's happening and see if they can make an announcement to find the owner. It's possible they don't realize the danger of leaving their pet in the car.
Call the authorities and get info on what to do from there if no owner can be found.

Be safe, and just leave your pets at home where they're safe.