Woman Charged with Animal Cruelty Following Hot Car Dog Death

Shortly after 11:00AM on July 4, the Trussville Police Department received a call of a dog inside a vehicle with the engine not running. The vehicle was parked in the parking lot of the Walmart located at 5919 Trussville Crossings Parkway.

Officers responded to the scene and found a dog alive in an older model Mercedes, with all of the doors locked.  Officers tried to locate the driver of the vehicle but were unsuccessful. Officers then broke out a window of the vehicle and removed the dog.

Efforts were made to keep the dog alive but sadly, the dog did not survive. The Jefferson County Humane Society came to the scene and recovered the dog’s body.

Further investigation showed that the driver of the vehicle had parked the car in the parking lot at approximately 4:00AM on the same date and went inside Walmart. The driver of the vehicle came to the car at a little after 12:00PM.

Officers confirmed that Stephanie Thomas, 34, of Trussville was the driver who had parked the car at the location.

Thomas was released at the scene and was told that a Trussville Investigator would be contacting her.

Thomas went to the Trussville Police Department the next day on July 5. She confessed that she had parked the vehicle in the Walmart parking lot and left her dog inside the car while she went inside to shop.  She stated that she never went outside the store to check on the dog and that she lost track of time while she was shopping.

A felony warrant for Aggravated Cruelty to Animals was issued with a $25,000 bond.  The suspect was arrested by the Trussville Police Department on July 5 and then transferred to the Jefferson County Jail.