Police: Dog left in hot car; Schenectady man charged

PHOTOGRAPHER: Photo Provided

Brandon Repleog.

Editor’s note: This was updated at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday to correct the breed of the puppy.

ALBANY — Police rescued a German shepherd puppy from a hot car Sunday and charged the dog’s Schenectady owner, police said.

The incident happened about noon at the Italian American Community Center on Washington Avenue Extension. Police received a call for a puppy in a car in distress, police spokesman Steve Smith said.

Officers arrived and spotted the puppy on the floor in the back seat in its own urine. Officers then rescued the animal and found the owner, Smith said

Smith identified the man as Schenectady resident Brandon Repleog, 29. He faces one count of misdemeanor animal cruelty. He was arraigned and released to return to court later.

Police turned the puppy over to the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society. The society, which estimated the puppy to be between 3 and 4 months old, was treating the puppy for heat exhaustion, according to Gazette news-gathering partner CBS6.

The air temperature at noon Sunday in Albany was 77 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. In-car temperatures can rise 34 degrees in 30 minutes, according to HeatKills.org.