Colorado man sentenced to jail after dog died in hot car while he played golf
A judge ordered a Fort Collins man Tuesday to serve two months in jail for leaving his German Shepherd mix inside his car while the man played 18 holes of golf on the 4th of July last year.
In addition, Jefferson County Court Judge Jennifer Lynn Melton sentenced 31-year-old Michael Reynolds to two years probation, 100 hours of useful public service, monitored sobriety, a dog ownership class, court fines and fees, and no dog ownership for two years.
However, Reynolds's defense attorney immediately filed an emergency motion to appeal the sentence, and all terms of the sentence will remain suspended until the appeal is resolved. Judge Melton imposed a $50,000 appellate bond which was paid, gaining Reynold's release from jail.
Reynolds drove from his home to the Foothills Golf Course in Littleton and planned to keep "Keef" in the parked car with a bowl of water and the windows rolled down, the 1st Judicial District Attorney's Office stated in a press release.
At 11:45 a.m., passersby began to notice the animal in distress. One reported hearing "whimpering" from the dog. That person noted the car's window were not rolled down and went into the clubhouse to call 9-1-1. Minutes later, another person noticed the window were beginning to fog due to the dog's heavy panting.
At that point, another person used a golf club to shatter one of the windows. "Keef" was unresponsive and passed away despite attempts to revive him by a CPR-certified bystander.
According to the DA's Office, Reynolds returned to his car at 1 p.m. He was "extremely distraught" when told of the dog's passing.
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Reynolds was issued a ticket on the spot, but the district attorney's office decided to pursue a misdemeanor count of animal cruelty against Reynolds after a necropsy proved the dog died of heat exhaustion. Reynolds pleaded guilty to the charge.
During Tuesday's sentencing hearing, an animal control officer told the court the temperature inside the car could have exceeded 130 degrees.
According to the district attorney's office, Judge Melton defined Reynolds's actions as reckless, "as leaving a dog in a car for several hours while drinking beer and golfing is unacceptable and deserving of a jail sentence."
No charges were brought against the person who broke the car's window. The Colorado legislature enacted a law in 2017 eliminating financial liability against people who break a window in order to rescue a child or pet inside a hot car -- provided they try to contact the vehicle's owner and 9-1-1 first.