A man and woman, both from Puna, are facing criminal charges after allegedly leaving a dog alone in a car in a parking lot in Kona earlier this month.

Frederick John Turner, 69, of Pahoa, and Tammi Dee Turner, 64, of Keaau, are charged with second-degree animal cruelty, according to a police log. The charge is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in prison upon conviction.

According to Hawaii Police Department spokeswoman Denise Laitinen, officers responded Nov. 5 to a Kailua-Kona parking lot on a report of a dog left in a vehicle.

“The responding officer observed that the windows were down three inches and that a small white dog was inside and appeared to be suffering from heat exhaustion,” Laitinen said. “The officer was able to unlock the vehicle and remove the dog, which appeared dehydrated, and the officer provided water to the dog and called Animal Control, who took custody of the animal.

“Police were unable to locate the registered owner of the vehicle. Animal Control contacted the dog’s owner, and when the pair arrived at Animal Control to pick up the dog, they were arrested for animal cruelty.”

The arrests, according to the diary, took place the next day, November 6. The pair were released from custody on their own recognizance, a form of non-cash bond. The state justice website does not yet indicate a court hearing has been set for either person.

Animal Control and Protection Administrator Matthew Runnells said the Turners will not be able to retrieve the dog “until the case is resolved.”

“It must have been pretty bad for the police to want to open the door,” Runnells said. “The dog didn’t have to go to a vet for care, which means it wasn’t in a critical situation, but it must have gotten to the point where it was panting and looked distressed.”

According to Runnells, leaving an animal alone in a parked vehicle is inadvisable, even under optimal circumstances.

“Even on the coldest days here, the temperature inside a car can rise dramatically in just a few minutes. So what you feel outside the car will not be what the dog feels inside. It’s like an oven like an animal sitting inside a car,” he said.

“It is better that the animal is left at home. I mean, what’s the point of bringing a dog with you if you’re going to leave it in the car anyway?

Email John Burnett at [email protected].