Two dogs die of heatstroke after being left in hot car for three hours by daycare worker, family devastated
Two pet dogs reportedly died of heatstroke while in the care of their dog walker who left them in a hot car for three hours.
Simba and Jasper succumbed to the heat after they were left in a hot car in St. Louis Park last Thursday as temperatures reached 84 degrees, WCCO reports.
Simba—a terrier mix—apparently had the gentle heart of a lion and was named after the adorable Disney character from 'The Lion King'. “He was a very, very loyal dog. He was a protector, wanted to always please you,” Michael Rozin of Minneapolis recalled.
Simba ran several half marathons with Michael, and had become an indispensable part of the Rozin family after playing their kids and his buddy Jasper, a labrador hybrid. “Just everything you want from a good obedient loving, loving dog. It’s just unbelievable that they are not here,” Rozin said.
Simba and Jasper, who belonged to Rozin's in-laws, died Thursday while on a doggie field trip day with Urban Dog Care in St. Louis Park.
“She came in person, and said she made a mistake and the dogs are dead,” Rozin said of daycare owner Cathy Menard.
Menard, the business owner who had successfully run the daycare for 21 years, said, “The main thing for me – I don’t want anyone to think I’m making excuses, this is 100% me.”
She said was transporting six dogs on Thursday when she brought four of them inside and forgot Simba and Jasper in the car for three hours. “It was 100% horrible human error and that was it. I don’t know how else to think about it,” Menard said.
“It’s a big mistake. It’s not a mistake you should continue to be in the same line of work if you are able to make mistakes like this,” Rozin said.
When asked whether her clients could trust her henceforth, she responded saying, “I think so. I mean, I want them to and the vast majority of the clients do.”
Rozin, who has filed a report with St. Louis Park police, said he hopes that other dogs will be protected following the tragedy. "Our dog Simba and our parent's dog Jasper were killed today by being left in the hot car by the negligent dog walker Cathy Menard from The Urban Dog," Rozin wrote on Facebook. "Do not trust her with your animals! Rest in piece Simba and Jasper. I will miss you so much."
According to experts, a dog inside a closed car can die from heatstroke in a mere 15 minutes