Animal Control officers with SCRAPS said they responded to 48 calls in four days of dogs left in hot cars. Officers said cars could quickly exceed the outside temperature by 50 degrees. They said they were responding to 12 calls a day on average of dogs abandoned inside hot cars. “Just today we responded to a dog in a car that was 120 degrees inside,” said SCRAPS officer Nicole Montano. SCRAPS also received a call on Wednesday about two dogs stuck inside a truck at Fred Meyer. Officials said the windows of the truck were rolled up and the dogs were panting inside and looked exhausted/Hayley Guenthner, KREM2. More here.

• Also: Dog frenzied, injured after someone tossed firecracker into kennel/Shoshone News Press

Question: What should be the penalty for a nitwit who leaves his dog(s) in a vehicle on a hot summer day?