VISALIA, CA (KMPH/CNN) – A dog owner in California says he was forced to put his 1-year-old pit bull down after the dog overheated inside an animal control vehicle.
Jeff Barnes says Cuda, 1, and his two other pit bulls got out of his gate Friday and attacked a cat, eventually killing it.
An animal control officer for the city of Visalia, CA, picked up all three dogs, but because Cuda was found first, Barnes says he was in the truck the longest.
Barnes received a call two hours later from the officer telling him that Cuda had a heat stroke in the truck and had been transported to the vet, according to a Facebook post by Barnes.
When Barnes arrived at the veterinary hospital, he says he was told his dog likely wasn’t going to make it, and the man was forced to put Cuda down.
"I went in to watch my dog die due to someone's neglect. I don't wish that upon anybody,” Barnes said.
Barnes said on Facebook Cuda reached a temperature of 109 while in the truck, which caused brain swelling and multiple seizures.
The City of Visalia released a statement saying the pit bulls had been transported to the Visalia Animal Care Center in a cooler-equipped vehicle. When the dogs arrived at the shelter, staff realized Cuda was “in stress.”
Barnes says he accepts full responsibility for his dogs’ attack on the neighbor cat, but he doesn’t feel Cuda should have died for it.
"I don't wish harm on anyone's animal. That is not something I am trying to do at all. I will accept repercussions for the cat. I just don't believe this is right for my dog. On his one year birthday, he doesn't deserve to get cooked,” he said.
Barnes posted the story on Facebook, and members from the community rallied with the man and his girlfriend at the animal care center Sunday, where they demanded answers.
"I know it’s not going to bring our dog back, but maybe it will make them look into the situation and look into the cooler trucks they use and what temperature it gets in there and what's the protocol and how long an animal can be in those boxes,” said Barnes’ girlfriend, Carrie DiLeo.
Barnes says his other two dogs are still at the center. While he waits for a hearing to find out if they will be deemed vicious, he hopes what happened to him and Cuda will never happen to another pet and pet owner again.
Animal control is investigating the incident, Barnes says.
Copyright 2017 KMPH, Jeff Barnes, Facebook via CNN. All rights reserved.
