Hot Weather and Pets

 (If you see something, say something! Call 911 to report an animal in distress) 

*This week we are expecting brutal heat, plan ahead to protect your pets: Hot weather like this can be lethal for animals who are kept outdoors without shade or access to water! This is also the time of year that we see an increase in calls for pets left in vehicles. I.C. 34-30-30-3 does permit persons to forcibly remove animals left in vehicles under certain conditions, so they cannot be charged criminally in those instances. 

Indiana I.C. 35-46-3-0.5 defines what constitutes Neglect of an Animal: 

(5) “Neglect” means: 

(A) endangering an animal’s health by failing to provide or arrange to provide the animal with food or drink, if the animal is dependent upon the person for the provision of food or drink; 

(B) restraining an animal for more than a brief period in a manner that endangers the animal’s life or health by the use of a rope, chain, or tether that: 

(i) is less than three (3) times the length of the animal; 

(ii) is too heavy to permit the animal to move freely; or 

(iii) causes the animal to choke; 

(C) restraining an animal in a manner that seriously endangers the animal’s life or health; 

(D) failing to: 

(i) provide reasonable care for; or 

(ii) seek veterinary care for; 

an injury or illness to a dog or cat that seriously endangers the life or health of the dog or cat; or 

(E) leaving a dog or cat outside and exposed to: 

(i) excessive heat without providing the animal with a means of shade from the heat; or 

(ii) excessive cold if the animal is not provided with straw or another means of protection from the cold; 

regardless of whether the animal is restrained or kept in a kennel. 

Also, leaving your animal in a hot car is against the law: Indiana Code 35-46-3-7 If you see something, say something! Call 911 to report an animal in distress. 

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.