Dog Trainer Arrested in Service Dogs’ Hot Car Deaths

A Texas dog trainer is in jail, facing three counts of felony cruelty to animals after three service dogs in her care were left to die in a hot car.

White Settlement, Texas dog trainer, Sherry Ann Taylor, was hired by three different dog owners to provide service dog training for their animals. Taylor was tasked with training the dogs to act appropriately in a variety of situations – in stores, restaurants, on airplanes – as well as teach obedience and behaviors necessary of legitimate service dogs.

While caring for three clients’ dogs, Taylor parked her car and went inside a veterinary clinic at around 3:30 on a July afternoon to visit with former coworkers. She told the dogs’ owners that she left the air conditioner running and that the vehicles was equipped with sensors that would alert her if the temperature became too hot. At some point during her visit, the vehicle shut off and the temperature alarms malfunctioned.

The dogs, a Pomeranian, a Mastiff, and a German Shepherd were left alone in the parked car for approximately 45-minutes. All three dogs died.

Taylor was booked into the Fort Worth Police Jail on Thursday. Each felony animal cruelty charge is punishable by up to two years in jail and a fine.