Dog owner sentenced for leaving pet in hot weather
Jonathon Correa, 31, of Brick, was sentenced to 270 days in the Ocean County Jail.
NEW JERSEY - The owner of a dog that died after it was left outside in sweltering temperatures for several hours will have to serve a county jail sentence and a probation term.
Jonathon Correa, 31, was also ordered Friday to perform 180 hours of community service and pay $1,735 restitution to Brick Township for veterinary bills it incurred.
Correa had pleaded guilty last September to animal cruelty charges stemming from the July 2018 death of Princess, a 13-month-old pit bull. The dog was left unattended on the balcony of Correa's townhome in Brick on a day where temperatures were around 100 degrees.
Brick police responded to the apartment after neighbors reported the dog was unconscious and in severe distress. The officers tried to cool down the dog and took it to an animal hospital, but Princess died there two days later of complications from heat stroke.