A New Canaan man was arrested on May 28 for leaving his three dogs in his car for nearly an hour and for engaging in a physical altercation with a police officer, police said.
George R. Lovas, 59, left a Golden Retriever and two small dogs in his Lexus SUV Monday morning when temperatures reached 84 degree before index, said Sgt. Carol Ogrinc.
A young woman on Elm Street contacted the police at 10:13 a.m. to report that she saw three dogs in a car with the windows up for at least 30 minutes and that they appeared to be in distress, police said.
A small crowd had gathered around the vehicle when the responding officer arrived, at which point he attempted to track down the owner via information obtained with his license plate number, said Ogrinc.
With no listed number found, the officer took to unlocking the door with a tool through the window seam, which took around 15 minutes as the vehicle’s locking mechanism automatically triggered each time the door was manually unlocked, police said.
Once the vehicle was opened, the two small dogs began drinking from bowls of water that neighbors had waiting for them, but the Golden Retriever was lethargic and did not immediately respond to water, police said.
The responding officer reported that the dogs had been enclosed in the vehicle for around 50 minutes, at which point Lovas arrived on the scene, said Ogrinc.
The officer explained to Lovas that the dogs were in danger after having been enclosed in the vehicle for so long and detailed how he came to be there with the door of Lovas' Lexus manually unlocked, police said.
Lovas responded by stating that he had only been gone five minutes, said Ogrinc.
The officer asked for Lovas’ license multiple times, but Lovas refused to comply, police said. A scuffle then ensued as the officer tried to handcuff Lovas, who fought back and caused minor injuries to the officer, including strain, scratches and/or bruising to his neck, lower back, knee, right thumb and right wrist, said Ogrinc. The officer also ended up with a torn boot and pants, said Ogrinc.
Lovas was charged with three counts of cruelty toward animals and interfering with an officer. He posted $5,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on June 11.
It is not known at this time whether or not Lovas was able to keep the three dogs, said Ogrinc.
