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A heartbreaking scene unfolded in southeast Las Vegas when authorities discovered a dog that had died after being confined in a crate under the blazing sun. The incident took place on a Saturday near the 6800 block of Frances Celia Avenue, close to Tropicana Avenue and East Russell Road.
Clark County Animal Protection Services had reached out to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for assistance. When officers arrived, they found the lifeless body of a dog who had been left trapped in a crate for hours with no protection from the dangerous desert temperatures. The conditions were so severe that the animal’s suffering quickly turned fatal.
Investigators from the department’s Animal Cruelty unit identified the dog’s owner as 30-year-old Olivia Underwood. She was arrested and booked into the Clark County Detention Center. Police confirmed she is facing one count of willful or malicious torture, maiming, or killing of a dog.
A nearby resident, who had been alarmed by the dog’s condition, recorded video evidence and immediately contacted Animal Protection Services. The footage played a key role in the investigation.
“When I called APS, they told me the officer was about twenty minutes away and I said, I don’t think the dog will make it that long,” the neighbor shared. “Then moments later, after I hang up the phone, the dog started having a seizure and died shortly after.”
The video was eventually passed along to 8 News Now by Bryce Henderson, president of the animal welfare organization No Kill Las Vegas. Henderson expressed deep sorrow over what he witnessed.
“In such a short period of time, you see this dog alive in it’s kennel and then moments later he collapses and is dead. I hope this is a lesson to the people out there, that you have to take the Vegas heat seriously,” he said. Henderson also stressed the importance of strict legal consequences in such cases.
“When people don’t have serious consequences to killing animals or abusing animals, then they are not going to take the law seriously,” he said. “I can only imagine how often this happens. This is just one instance where someone was videotaping it, but how often does it happen and we never hear about it.”
Despite the nature of the charge, Underwood was released on bail. We hope Underwood receives a strict punishment for the painful cruelty she inflicted on the innocent dog. What are your thoughts?
Feature image courtesy of Engin Akyurt/Unsplash
