Louisville man charged after 2 dogs left inside hot car die

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - One man has been arrested after being accused of leaving two dogs inside a hot car in west Louisville on Wednesday morning.

Louisville Metro police officers were called to the 6600 block of Hunters Creek Boulevard around 11 a.m., according to LMPD spokesman Aaron Ellis.

A neighbor said he first noticed the car parked by his house around 9 a.m. It wasn’t until two hours later that his grandmother noticed the two dogs in the car.

He said they waved down an off-duty Shively police officer who lives down the street. The officer tried breaking the window with a hammer, but it wasn’t until about ten minutes later that another officer was able to break it with a baton.

According to National Weather Service data, the temperature at the time of the incident was reported at 93 degrees,

LMPD confirmed one of the dogs had died. The other dog appeared to be in distress, and Louisville Metro Animal Services was called to get the surviving animal medical treatment.

LMAS officials confirmed the second dog died a short time later while being sent to a veterinarian.

“Unfortunately, one dog was deceased,” Jeff Foley, deputy director of LMAS said. “The second dog died enroute to our veterinarian’s office. Both animals died because someone left them in a hot car.”

While officers were on the scene, 21-year-old Kyle Cobb, the owner of the vehicle, came outside. Officers questioned Cobb, who was then arrested at the scene.

Neighbors told WAVE News that Cobb was visiting friends that live on Hackel Street.

Cobb has been charged with at least one count of animal cruelty and has been booked in Metro Corrections.

LMPD is handling the ongoing investigation.

Foley said on Wednesday this wasn’t the only case of dogs being locked in a hot car.

“Please don’t take your dog with you in a car, because you might have a situation come up where you need to leave the dog in the car and you didn’t plan on it,” Foley said. “So don’t do it.”

Driving with pets in the summertime can be dangerous, and it’s the same with children.

The temperature in a car can rise 20 degrees in just ten minutes. Even with the air conditioning running, it can still be dangerous.

If someone sees a pet or a child locked in a hot car, call 911 immediately.

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