Women Charged in New Paltz After Leaving Dogs in Vehicles

Sadly, even after the tragic news concerning the deaths of two dogs left in an SUV while their owners attended the Hot-Air Balloon Festival in Poughkeepsie, some people are still leaving their pets in vehicles during the summer. Now two women in New Paltz have been charged for leaving dogs confined in cars during “extreme heat,” police said Wednesday.

Maria Alvarado-Behl, 35, of New York City was arrested on Main Street New Paltz police Saturday evening, and charged with confining an animal in a vehicle in extreme heat, according to New Paltz Police Lt. Rob Lucchesi. Temperatures climbed into the 90's in Hudson Valley on Saturday. Upon arriving at the scene, officers unlocked the vehicle and waited for the owner to come forward, according to the Daily Freeman

Then Tuesday evening, when temperatures were in the low 80s, 32 year-old Natalia L. Rivera of Maspeth, also was charged with confining an animal in a vehicle in extreme heat, Lt. Lucchesi said. Officers responding to Rivera’s vehicle, which was also parked on Main Street in New Paltz, opened the car and proved water to the dog when she arrived.

The good news though is while both dogs were found in distress, they both survived, says New Paltz Police Lt. Rob Lucchesi.

Alvarado-Behl and Rivera were released with tickets to appear in New Paltz Village Court.

Recently, this PSA video of the NFL's Tyrann Mathieu showed the effects and consequences of leaving a dog inside a car in warm weather, even for a brief errand.