Police: Woman Left Dog in Hot Car While She Worked Out

A Chicago woman was charged with animal cruelty after she left her dog in her car on a 96-degree day while she went to work out, according to Morton Grove police.

Mun H. Devaney, 55, of Chicago, was charged with animal confinement in a motor vehicle, a kind of animal cruelty, according to Morton Grove Police Cmdr. Paul Yaras. 

A passerby noticed Devaney’s dog sweltering in her car outside L.A. Fitness at 6821 Dempster Street, around 2:45 p.m. Tuesday, July 18, according to police. The windows were open approximately one inch, and temperatures had reached 96 degrees.

The Good Samaritan let the dog out of the car and led the animal inside to the front desk, where employees brought water to the very dehydrated dog, police said. 

Meanwhile, employees at L.A. Fitness tried to find the dog’s owner, but called 9-11 after they were unable to do so. Police arrived and identified Devaney as the registered owner of the vehicle, and called her to the front desk over the loudspeaker. 

Devaney met police at the front desk at 3:35 p.m., where the responding officer told her that a Good Samaritan had saved her dog’s life. 

The woman appeared not to understand the seriousness of leaving her dog in the car, according to police, and claimed that she had “just arrived at the gym a couple minutes ago.” 

Based on the time she checked in, however, police determined that Devaney had arrived at L.A. Fitness at 2:30 p.m.—meaning her dog would have been in her car for at least an hour if a Good Samaritan had not rescued the animal.  

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), temperatures escalate very rapidly within a car, causing animals to overheat and even die. On an 85-degree day, it takes only ten minutes for the inside of a car to reach 102 degrees, even with the windows open an inch or two, according to the ASPCA. The car’s interior can reach 120 degrees within 30 minutes. 

“The dog was in danger of dying,” said Cmdr. Yaras.

Mun was also charged with driving with a revoked license after she admitted that she drove to the gym, according to police. The conditions of her revoked license stipulated that she could only drive to work during business hours—meaning she violated those terms by driving to the gym, police said.

Animal control officers took the woman’s dog to Carriage Hill Kennel in Glenview. The woman will need to go to court to get her dog back, according to police.