A dog left inside a parked car at a Walmart in Conway, New Hampshire reached an internal body temperature of 107.5 degrees this week, a reading veterinarians classify as life-threatening, and its owner now faces an animal cruelty charge. Nicole Oleson, 38, of Burlington, Vermont, was arrested after Conway police responded to a report of a dog trapped inside a parked car with all its windows up and the engine off.
Conway police responded to the Walmart parking lot around 3:50 p.m. Tuesday, according to police, as reported by KABB. An animal control officer measured the temperature inside the vehicle at approximately 114 degrees, even though the outside air in Conway was 88 degrees that afternoon. The dog was already exhibiting signs of heat stroke by the time the officer reached it.
Officer Forces Entry to Reach Suffering Dog
The officer removed the dog from the car because it was believed to be in immediate danger, according to the same account. Once outside the vehicle, the dog's internal body temperature was recorded at 107.5 degrees, a reading police described as critical and potentially life-threatening. The dog was first taken to Conway Veterinary Hospital for emergency treatment before being transferred to Maine Veterinary Medical Center in Scarborough, Maine, a 24-hour regional facility that provides advanced emergency diagnostics, intensive care and specialized surgery.
Veterinary guidance published by VCA Animal Hospitals puts a dog's normal internal temperature between 101°F and 102.5°F, meaning the dog's recorded temperature was more than five degrees above normal. Once a dog's temperature reaches 107°F, VCA notes, the animal enters a critical hyperthermic threshold capable of causing irreversible multiple organ failure or death within minutes. Dogs are especially vulnerable in these situations because they lack full-body sweat glands, relying mainly on panting and the sweat glands in their paw pads to cool down, according to the same veterinary guidance.
How Fast a Parked Car Turns Deadly
The speed of the escalation illustrates why officers treat these calls as emergencies. Research from the American Veterinary Medical Association shows that a car's interior temperature can climb 19 degrees in just 10 minutes and nearly 30 degrees within 20 minutes, even on days with moderate ambient temperatures. In Conway's case, that math meant an 88-degree afternoon turned into a 114-degree enclosure well before anyone noticed the dog in distress.
Police say it took roughly 45 minutes after the initial call for officers to identify Oleson as the dog's owner. She was subsequently charged with animal cruelty. Oleson told investigating officers that she never intended to put her dog in danger when she left it inside the car, according to the Conway Daily Sun.
What New Hampshire Law Allows and Requires
New Hampshire statute RSA 644:8-aa explicitly codifies confining an animal in a vehicle under extreme high or low temperatures that risk serious harm as animal cruelty, classified as a misdemeanor offense. The same statute is what gave the Conway animal control officer the legal authority to force entry into Oleson's vehicle to remove the dog, while also shielding the officer from civil liability for any resulting property damage.
That legal protection does not extend to ordinary bystanders in New Hampshire. Unlike neighboring Massachusetts, the state does not offer a Good Samaritan civil liability shield for private citizens who break into vehicles to rescue distressed pets, meaning that authority to legally force entry rests largely with law enforcement and animal control officers rather than passersby, according to the Golden Dog Adventure Co.
If convicted, Oleson could face significant penalties depending on how the charge is classified. Under New Hampshire's sentencing guidelines, a Class A misdemeanor carries up to one year in county jail and fines as high as $2,000, while a Class B misdemeanor carries fines up to $1,200 without jail time, per Russman Law. Separately, RSA 644:8 gives New Hampshire courts the authority to bar a person convicted of animal cruelty from owning, possessing, or living with animals for a court-determined period.
Police say the dog is expected to make a full recovery. The case remains an active matter with Conway police as it moves through the local court system.
