Three citizens aged 61, 41 and 36 are being investigated in Navarra for animal abuse, after they left their dogs in the trunk of their vehicle for several hours to go eat, causing the death of two of the three animals. The third survived thanks to the help of veterinary personnel, once he was urgently transferred to a veterinary clinic.
The events occurred in the Navarrese town of Urdax, a border area full of catering establishments and shops despite its small size. Three citizens of French nationality traveled there in a single vehicle and left their dogs inside while they ate at a local restaurant. The dogs were left in full sun and without ventilation, according to police sources.
A citizen’s notice alerted to this situation, after realizing that the animals were in very poor condition. Citizen security agents and the Nature Protection Service (Seprona) of the Civil Guard were notified, and from there an operation began that managed to save the life of one of the animals.
First of all, several citizens and the owners themselves tried to revive the animals by cooling them with water. The Civil Guard agents joined the first aid efforts for the animals and at the same time made arrangements for their veterinary assistance and shelter. One of the owners even performed mouth-to-mouth on one of the dogs.
The municipal authority, for its part, contacted those responsible for the Parque de Trikuhary animal shelter, who provided first assistance to the dogs, to whom they administered medication under veterinary prescription to try to stabilize the animals, as reported by the Guard Civil.
After a few hours without a significant improvement in the dogs, it was decided to transfer the animals to a veterinary clinic in Irún, in Guipúzcoa, to be treated urgently. When they arrived, the animals were still alive, but in very critical condition.
In the veterinary clinic, diagnostic tests were carried out to check the condition of the animals and give them the appropriate treatment. The first of them was a nine-month-old Belgian Malinois, named Thai, who died shortly after arriving at the clinic due to severe pulmonary edema. The second, a one-year-old Belgian Sheepdog named Narco, died of multiple organ failure. And the third, a dog named Taiga and the Cane Corso (Italian Mastiff) breed, only five months old, regained consciousness and evolved positively until she was discharged eight days after the events.
The latter, Taiga, is the dog that has survived and is in the Trikuhary de Urdax abandoned animal shelter. The animal has remained in the custody of the mayor of that town, in accordance with the current law on companion animals, awaiting its destination to be decided by the judicial authority.
The owners of the dogs are being investigated for a criminal offense related to the protection of flora, fauna and domestic animals from animal abuse due to abandonment.
The penalties for this type of crime can be from 6 to 18 months in prison and special disqualification from two to four years for the exercise of a profession, trade or trade that is related to animals and their possession.
