A dog died after being left by its owner in a car for 20 hours in summer heat.

The pit bull’s owner, Sasha Koval, 27, intentionally left it inside her vehicle while she went to work, stated the Hollywood Police Department. After getting home from working, Koval apparently left the pup in the car for a few more hours.

Koval woke up the next afternoon around 2pm and found her dog dead, about 20 hours after first putting it in the hot car, WPEC reported on Wednesday.

The temperature in Hollywood, Florida, on June 18 reached a high of 91 degrees Fahrenheit, AccuWeather shows.

Police received tips of an animal neglect case and began investigating on June 22. Upon arriving in the area, they saw the brindle pit bull on the floorboard of the truck, lifeless.

Cops arrested Koval on Friday and she admitted to her actions, police said.

Koval has been charged with aggravated animal cruelty. She was booked into Broward County Jail.

If convicted, Koval faces up to five years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines.

No witnesses have been found.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact the police department.

It is not clear if Koval left the window of her car cracked.

Dogs are susceptible to heatstrokes, according to the American Kennel Club.

‘Most dog owners know that you can’t leave a pet in a hot car. Temperatures can rise to dangerous levels in just minutes, putting your dog at risk of heatstroke,’ states the organization on its website.

‘But what if you open a window a little bit? Does that make it safe to leave your dog in the car?

The answer is simple. You should never leave a dog alone in the car, even with the windows cracked. In some states, it’s even illegal.’

Under Broward County’s animal laws, ‘it is against the law to leave an animal in a motor vehicle without adequate ventilation or expose your pet to extremes of heat or cold’.

The pit bull’s death follows an increase in hot car child deaths. Through spring, there were roughly double the number of such deaths compared to the same time period in 2022.

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