When a dog was discovered dead in a cage left outside in the intense heat at a house in southeast Las Vegas on Saturday, a lady was taken into custody.
Clark County Animal Protection Services alerted Las Vegas Metro police to a residence on the 6800 block of Frances Celia Avenue, close to Tropicana Avenue and East Russell Road.
The dog had spent several hours in the intense heat after being put in a kennel, according to the authorities. Olivia Underwood, 30, was eventually recognized as the owner by Animal Cruelty detectives.
After being taken into custody, Underwood was checked into the Clark County Detention Center. According to authorities, she is charged with one count of intentionally torturing, murdering, or maiming a dog.
A neighbor in the area recorded the dog and sent it to the police.
“When I called APS, they told me the officer was about twenty minutes away and I said, I don’t think the dog will make it that long,” the neighbor said. “Then moments later, after I hang up the phone, the dog started having a seizure and died shortly after.”
It was Bryce Henderson, president of the animal rights organization “No Kill Las Vegas,” who first alerted 8 News Now to the unsettling footage.
“In such a short period of time, you see this dog alive in it’s kennel and then moments later he collapses and is dead. I hope this is a lesson to the people out there, that you have to take the Vegas heat seriously,” Henderson told 8 News Now.
Henderson expressed his desire for the owner to be held responsible for their acts as well.
“When people don’t have serious consequences to killing animals or abusing animals, then they are not going to take the law seriously,” Henderson said. “I can only imagine how often this happens. This is just one instance where someone was videotaping it, but how often does it happen and we never hear about it.”
Underwood was set free on bail.
