Beaver County dog euthanized after being found tied up outside in heat

A dog in Beaver County was cooked from the inside after being left out in the heat Wednesday without shade or water, according to a report from Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV.

The full-grown husky was euthanized because of heat stroke. Its owner, Di Xiao, 29, of Baden is charged with animal cruelty and neglect charges, and was being held in the Beaver County Prison after failing to post a $2,500 bail, according to court records.

Xiao did not have an attorney listed in court records. She is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on June 27.

Citing a criminal complaint, WPXI reported that police were called to Xiao’s home on Collins Avenue for an animal in extreme distress. Officers found the husky on the ground behind the house, where it was tethered and muzzled with no shade or water.

The National Weather Service had issued a heat advisory for much of the day Wednesday. The high reached 92 degrees at Pittsburgh International Airport, and combined with high humidity to create heat indices in the low 100s.

Xiao took the dog to a veterinarian, where it had a seizure and started bleeding because its organs were failing. In the complaint, the vet said the dog’s temperature was higher than 109 degrees.

Beaver County humane Officer Tristan Wenzig said the dog was in the heat “for so long that it was cooking internally,” WPXI reported.

Pennsylvania’s “Libre’s Law” took effect in 2017. Under the law, dogs must have access to shade or water when outside, and it prohibits keeping dogs out for longer than a half hour in potentially dangerous weather conditions.

The law is named after a Boston terrier puppy that was rescued at the brink of death in Lancaster County.

The Beaver County Humane Society encourages residents to report dogs seen tethered outside. Officers can be reached between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays at 724-775-7501, ext. 110. The society advises calling 911 in emergency situations, after hours and on weekends.