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Another Dog Pulled Out Of Hot Vehicle At Arden Fair Mall

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Another dog was pulled out of a parked vehicle at Arden Fair Mall on Wednesday afternoon after security said it got to well over 100 degrees inside.

"It was going up between 109 and 124," Animal Control Officer Julian Reynaga said of the reading inside the man's Honda Pilot SUV.

hot dog
A dog is walked out of the Arden Fair Mall by its owner after being pulled out of the man's hot vehicle on Wednesday, June 20, 2012. (credit: CBS13)

Arden Fair security cameras show the dog was inside the vehicle for an hour and a half.

The dog owner returned to his car and found the dog wasn't there. Mall security removed the dog after getting a complaint from a customer and heat gun readings that showed temperatures inside topped a 110.

"It was not 110 degrees in the car," the owner said when he returned.

"Sir, I have a (temperature) gun and shot it inside. It was 110 on three separate occasions" Reynaga responded.

The windows were down and there was food and water, but mall security said the dog was feeling the effects of the 90-plus degree heat outside.

"He was panting heavily, very uncomfortable, having trouble getting his breath," said Steve Reed, the mall's security manager.

The owner, who was fined $200 and returned his dog, didn't think he did anything wrong, and Animal Control says there's a common misconception that leaving the windows down is enough.

"Leaving the windows down is not going to make a difference since the dog's in the direct sunlight," Reynaga said. "It's pretty dangerous on these type of days."

With five of these cases so far this year mall security says, the message is pretty simple.

"I would tell them not to bring their best friend," Reed said.

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