HAMBURG, N.Y. — A Hamburg woman was arraigned on animal cruelty charges after a dog was left inside a hot car back in June.
Joy A. Bickert, 49, was arraigned Tuesday in Orchard Park Town Court. She faces one count of overdriving, torturing and injuring animals; one count of failure to provide proper sustenance; and one count of confinement of companion animals in vehicles: extreme temperatures, the Erie County District Attorney's Office said Thursday.
The charges follow an incident that happened the afternoon of Friday, June 21, when Bickert brought her 2-year-old female mixed breed bulldog, Eleanor, to a veterinarian in the Village of Hamburg.
The district attorney's office said the dog died after being left inside a parked vehicle, with the windows closed, on Southwestern Boulevard in the Town of Orchard Park.
Bickert will return to court on Tuesday, Sept. 17. She faces up to one year in jail.
"This is a heartbreaking case involving the death of a pet who was trapped inside of a vehicle on a hot summer day in Western New York," Acting DA Mike Keane said in a statement.
"But these situations are preventable tragedies. I remind everyone, especially in the summer months, to double check their backseat for children and pets before exiting their vehicles."