By Jon Sutz, Founder, HEATKILLS.us™
Caution: Some will find these stories, and the headline screencaps I provide, to be triggering. They're all heartbreaking, especially when the dog's face is included. (This page is actually just a small sampling of items I bookmarked over the years.)
While the circumstances and locations of each of the tragedies presented on this page differ, the vast majority of these incidents have one thing in common: they were 100% preventable. And the key to preventing them is knowledge.
Here is a page that contains HeatKills.us resources to help dog lovers throughout the world to help prevent them from suffering such agonizing injuries, and deaths.
Contents
(1) Civilian dogs
(2) Police dogs
(3) Videos I've taken of dogs in hot cars
All items are listed in reverse chronological order.
(1) Civilian dogs
6-month-old puppy rescued from 122-degree car adopted by fire department, CBS-12 News (Washington, DC), August 29, 2023.
Hiker arrested after dog dies, another treated for heat-related illness on Phoenix mountain, (3TV/CBS 5, Phoenix, AZ), August 9, 2023.
Professional York dog walker caused spaniel's death in heatwave, The York Press (UK) via YahooNews,
Group breaks window to help three dogs in hot car (Walmart), WJAR (North Smithfield, RI), August 11 2022.
Dog left in hot car at Collierville Walmart, ActionNews5 (Collierville, TN), July 28, 2022.
Dog dies after being left in hot car in Meridian: 'This death was completely preventable,' KTVB.com (Idaho), June 23, 2022.
Dog left in hot car at Frazer Township Walmart, owner charged, CBS Pittsburgh (PA), June 17, 2022.
Toronto dog allegedly left in hot car to die, 2nd death for dog walker, Globalnews.ca (Canada), June 2, 2022.
Four Dogs Die After Being Left in Car During Woman's Lunch Stop: Police, Newsweek, May 27, 2022.
Security Worker Left Two Dogs In Hot Car And Both Of Them Died, LAD Bible (UK), September 1, 2021.
Dog Rescued from Locked Car in Walt Disney World Parking Lot, People, August 12, 2021.
London: Handler left two dogs to die in cramped car boot in 24°C heat, Metro News (UK), Aug 13, 2021.
Las Vegas woman accused of leaving dogs in hot SUV while she shopped (Walmart), Fox13memphis.com (TN),
Dog dies after being left in hot car for seven hours by Dubai day care centre, The National News (UAE), July 26, 2021.
Dog 'nearly dies' after being left in car during blistering heat in Shrewsbury, Birmingham Live (UK), July 17, 2021.
Police: Georgia pet owner left puppy in hot car nearly an hour as she shopped at Walmart, WCJL (Duluth, GA), June 30, 2021.
Padstow: Dog dies after being left in a hot car, owner charged, News.com.au (Australia), December 8, 2020.
Naugatuck man charged after dog left in hot car at Walmart, Fox61.com (CT), July 22, 2020.
Charges pending after dog left in car on hot day dies: Norfolk County OPP, Globalnews.co (Ontario, Canada), July 13, 2020.
Judge orders woman to volunteer at animal shelter after dog dies in her hot car, The Herald News (Portsmouth, MA), November 15, 2019.
Twin Cities Family Grieves Loss Of 2 Pets Who Died In Dog Walker's Care, CBS Minnesota, September 23, 2019.
Video: Florida woman leaves dog in hot car 3 hours at Walmart, dog dies: Police, WTVO (Rockford, IL), Aug 24, 2019:
Police: Dogs left caged in hot trailer, driver arrested (Walmart), WJAR (RI), July 19, 2019.
Dog Dies In Hot Car In NW Colorado, Denver, CO Patch, July 10, 2019.
Dog Left In Hot Car At Secaucus Walmart, Woman Arrested, Secaucus, NJ Patch, September 11, 2018.
Dog dies after being left in hot car in Langford, Victoria News (Canada), July 24, 2018.
Dog rescued from hot vehicle in Walmart parking lot, officials say, WFTV, Orange County (FL), July 24, 2018.
Owner of dog left in hot car at Walmart spent night in jail for shoplifting, police say, CentralMaine.com, July 11, 2018. Excerpt:
Smith (the witness) said she even rolled up her own windows while waiting to see how quickly her car got hot.
“I was sweating with minutes of doing so,” she said.
Deputy on patrol in Pahrump spots dog in hot car (Walmart), Pahrump Valley Times (NV), July 6, 2018.
Dog dies after being left in hot car at Alabama Walmart for 7 hours: report, NOLA.com, July 5, 2018.
VIDEO: Charges expected after dog left in hot car dies (Walmart), The Trussville Tribune (Alabama), July 4, 2018.
Deputy breaks car window to rescue dog in hot Walmart parking lot, ABC7 Los Angeles, May 9, 2018.
RSPCA investigating after dog dies from being left in hot car, PerthNow (Australia), January 17, 2018.
Dog Dies After Being Left In Hot Car In JP, Police To Release Charges, Jamaica Plain, MA Patch, August 2, 2017.
Dog dies after being left in car in nylon bag while owner cleaned condos, The Palm Beach Post (FL), July 24, 2017.
Dog saved from hot car at Iowa Walmart parking lot, owner cited, WNDU (South Bend, IN), July 22, 2017.
Police: 3 dogs left to die in hot car outside Iowa dog show, WTVC (Ottumwa, Iowa), July 13, 2017.
Florida woman arrested after dog dies in hot car, AP, July 11, 2017.
Dog died in hot car 'while owner went to watch school sports day,' North Wales Live (UK), July 7, 2017.
Man who [left] his three dogs die in hot car as he hit the gym for five hours escapes jail, The Sun (UK), September 28, 2016.
Police: 5-week-old puppy dies after man leaves 2 dogs in hot car, WSET (Danville, Virginia), August 29, 2016.
SPCA: Dog died of heat stroke at Corryville parking garage,
Woman Who Allegedly Left Dog in Hot Car Complains About Heat in Police Car, People, August 25, 2015.
2 dogs left in hot vehicles at Renfrew Walmart on Monday, OPP say, CBC News (Canada), August 18, 2015.
Humane society warns about dangers of hot weather after two dogs die, TheRecord.com (Waterloo Region, Canada), July 5, 2014.
Dog pulled from hot car dies, ActionNews5 (Memphis, TN), July 29, 2015.
Dog dies after being 'left in hot car for hours while owners shopped in Ikea,' Mirror Online (UK), June 30, 2015.
Fourth pit bull found in hot car put down, KXTV (ABC) Sacramento, CA August 10, 2014.
Dog nearly dies in hot car, CHCH (Ontario, Canada), August 10, 2014.
Dog dies locked in SUV at Phoenix mall, WTSP, June 3, 2014.
5 Dogs Left in a Hot Car Die in Walmart Parking Lot, The Dogington Post, May 22, 2014.
Dog dies after being left in hot car at Acadia University, CTV News (Canada), July 22, 2013.
Dog dies in hot car; Another rescued, WJAR (Rhode Island), July 17 2013. Excerpt:
About half an hour before her shift began on Wednesday, Carla Cheney, a pharmacy technician at the Kemptville, Ont., store, watched a Newfoundlander dog jump out of a truck window twice before a man put the dog back in the vehicle and rolled up the windows.
Upset, she confronted the man.
“I said he should not be leaving his dog in the car. The man said it was none of my business.”
Walmart to post warnings about leaving pets in hot cars after employee fired for confronting customer, National Post (Canada), July 11, 2013.
2 Rottweilers die after allegedly being left in hot truck in Neptune, NJ.com (New Jersey), August 26, 2012.
Dog Left in Hot Car at Oconee Walmart, Two Charged With Animal Cruelty, Oconee, GA Patch, July 18, 2012.
(2) Police dogs
State of Maine's first comfort dog found dead in state vehicle, officials say, WMTW-ABC News, May 30, 2025
8 police dogs in transport die after truck’s AC breaks down in traffic, July 29, 2023.
NBC4 Washington DC Police K9 Dies After Being Left in in Hot Vehicle, September 19, 2022:
K9 Dog Died After Left in Hot Police Car, Cop Avoids Charges (FL), MotorBiscuit, May 25, 2022.
Former Cocoa officer avoids charges after K-9 left in hot police car for hours found dead, ClickOnOrlando.com, May 18, 2022.
K-9 dies in hot car, sergeant demoted after K-9 left alone, dies in hot vehicle, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 27, 2021.
Ariz. cop suspended for 20 hours after K-9 left in hot car dies, Police One, February 12, 2021
Hot Car Death: California K-9 Dog Dies After Being Left in Overheated Police Car, Newsweek, August 26, 2019.
Detroit police dog dies after being left in hot car, MLIve.com (Michigan), Aug. 28, 2018.
11 Police Dogs Have Died of Heat Exhaustion This Summer; 9 Were Left in Hot Patrol Cars, The Weather Channel, August 17, 2015.
Police dog dies after left in hot car for 6 hours: Officer suspended, WQRZ.com (Columbia, SC), August 27, 2018.
Police dog handler suspended after dog left in hot car for six hours dies (South Carolina), London Evening Standard (UK), August 24, 2018.
Memphis K-9 dies after being left in officer's hot car, WBIR.com (Memphis, TN), August 18, 2017.
Police dog dies after being left in hot car, NYPost, July 12, 2016.
Police dog dies after being left in hot squad car, 12News.com (Arizona), June 10, 2016.
46 U.S. police dogs died in hot squad cars since 2011, Green Bay Press Gazette (WI), October 9, 2015.
Police dog died after handler left him in hot car for ten hours, Metro News (UK), July 18, 2015.
Alabama police officer faces grand jury after dog dies in patrol car, USA Today, June 24, 2015.
Police K-9 dies after officer left dog in hot car: cops, NY Post, May 2, 2017.
Georgia police dog dies after being left in handler's hot patrol car, Local12.com (Georgia), July 19, 2015.
Airport bomb sniffing dog, left in patrol car, dies from heat, The State (Greenville, SC), September 17, 2014.
Police dog dies after being left in hot patrol car, Globalnews.ca (Canada), September 12, 2014.
K-9 Officer dies after being left in hot car, WPDE (South Carolina), August 13, 2013.
(Georgia) police dog dies of heat stroke after handler forgets him in a patrol car parked outside his home, Daily Mail Online (UK),
K-9 DIES: Police Dog Left In Hot Car, WHO13.com (Des Moines, IA), August 31, 2012.
Deputy put on leave after 2 police dogs die in hot SUV, MySanAntonio.com, July 27, 2012.
Police dog euthanized after being left in hot car, AZFamily.com, July 12, 2012.
Police dogs die in hot car, Belfast Telegraph (Ireland), July 1, 2009.
Mulberry Police Dog Dies in Hot Car, The Ledger (Lakeland, FL), July 22, 2008.
(3) Videos I've taken of dogs in hot cars
These videos, which I captured between 2012-2018, combined with my growing awareness of the broad-scale ignorance of the heatstroke danger to dogs, were the catalysts behind my creation and development of the HEATKILLS™ project in 2014.
If you watch and listen to these videos in chronological order, you'll detect two things:
- My benevolence in regards to dog owners who genuinely did not know of the heatstroke danger to dogs
- My limited patience with dog owners who reflexively, angrily pretend to know (a) how long their dog was left in the heat, and (b) the heatstroke danger
(1) August 18, 2012: Dog trapped in hot truck, Charlottesville, VA
This is the first full-scale video I ever took of a dog locked in a hot car. It occurred in front of the Panera Bread in Barracks Road Shopping Center, Charlottesville, VA.
Granted, the windows were cracked. But it was 75 degrees at 9:30am. As I note on the video, during the course of observing this dog for about 20 minutes, I called 911 twice. According to scientific research, the interior temperature rose to about 105 degrees.
By the time the police officer arrived, the truck was gone.
(2) August 4, 2013: Two dogs trapped in hot car, Charlottesville, VA
This video was captured in front of the Barnes & Noble book store in Barracks Road Shopping Center, Charlottesville, VA.
Granted, the windows were cracked. But it was about 75 degrees at 10:30am when I took this video. Assuming the dogs had been in that car for ten minutes, according to scientific research, the interior temperature would have risen to around 95 degrees; after twenty minutes, it would have risen to about 105 degrees.
Not knowing how long the dogs been in that car, or how long they'd be confined there, I called the police, then went to speak to the managers of the Barnes & Noble and neighboring merchants, and asked them to summon whoever owned that car, to notify them that the police had been called for suspected animal neglect.
I waited around for a few minutes, but neither the police nor the owner showed up. At that point I had done all I could, and wanted to get Shayna out of the sun – as you can see, she was panting pretty hard.
(3) June 18, 2014: Black Lab left in SUV for 30 minutes for 90 degrees
I captured this video in front of the Hot Cakes cafe’ in the Barracks Road Shopping Center, Charlottesville, VA.
It was 12:10pm, the outside temperature was around 92 degrees, and this vehicle was in direct sunlight.
I suppose in a way, I should thank the woman who left her beautiful Black Lab in her black SUV to roast, today. Because it was this act, and the unbelievable arrogance with which she tried to defend doing so, that spurred me to finally create the HEATKILLS.us™ project. Or rather, it made me feel (literally) as if my beloved Shayna (whom I had to send to Heaven four months earlier) was nosing me, nudging me, telling me:
“You have all the skills and knowledge to do this, daddy. Please, do it for me, and for all my dog friends.”
Specifically, this woman left her Black Lab in a black SUV, in 92 degree direct sunlight, for about 30 minutes – and I captured four video clips of it.
The video is self-explanatory. If you know anything about the science of why it is so dangerous to leave dogs in hot cars, let alone in direct sunlight – even if the windows are partially open – you’ll know why I got so upset at the end. You’ll catch only the beginning of my confrontation with this woman; the video cut off because a call was coming in on my phone. Were it not for that, you would have heard exactly what I describe she said, as to why she had been away from her SUV for so long (stuck in line at the pharmacy, waiting for prescription for her child) – and her unbelievably arrogant, dismissive attitude to the potentially deadly situation she imposed on her dog.
(4) July 16, 2014: Golden Retriever trapped in hot car, Charlottesville, VA (Part 1)
I was seated outside Hot Cakes restaurant at the Barracks Rd. Shopping Center in Charlottesville, VA, at about 10:30am, when it was about 75 degrees, working on my laptop, when I began to hear a dog yelping from some distance away, behind me. After hearing this for about 5 minutes, I asked someone to watch my computer while I went to investigate. I began to move towards the sound, and as it got louder, I pulled out my cell phone and began to video what I discovered.
About 120 feet behind me, parked between the CVS and Jos. A. Banks, I observed a big Golder Retriever, trapped in the back of this Volvo station wagon:
I went back to my table, and continued hearing the dog yelping. About five minutes later, I called the police, and they said they’d dispatch an officer. Another five minutes or so went by, and then the dog’s yelping stopped. I asked another person to watch my computer while I investigated, but at that point, the car was gone.
After calling the police back to update them, I took this video to demonstrate how far away I was from the dog, and how I could not even see it when it was yelping – the only way I discovered it is because I heard its yelping:
Who knows how long that Golden had been in that hot car -- or was it going to be left there?
Was it yelping like that because it was suffering organ or brain damage – or just because s/he missed his/her parent?
According to scientific research, if it had been left in that car for ten minutes, the interior temperature went from 75 degrees to 94 degrees (or higher, as it was in direct sunlight).
Amazingly, as shown below, four days later, the same owner did the same thing with the same dog -- but that time, I confronted him.
(5) July 20, 2014: Golden Retriever trapped in hot car, Charlottesville, VA (Part 2)
Four days after the July 16 incident with the Golden Retriever, above, I was seated in the same location, at about 11:00am, when it was about 75 degrees outside, and began to hear what sounded like the same barking/yelping again, coming from the same direction. I was working very busily to wrap up a project, and thought, “No, it couldn’t be.” But it didn't stop.
Finally, I asked someone to watch my computer, grabbed my smartphone and went to investigate.
Guess who? It’s all documented on this video:
What’s not documented on video, however, is the rather “colorful” way that the dog’s owner dismissed my concerns. With an outside temperature of 75 degrees, the science shows the interior temperature of this veritable oven would have reached approximately 94 degrees by the time our exchange occurred.
After that owner took off, and I resumed my work, about 10 minutes later I began to hear two much smaller dogs barking/yelping in a nearby car, that I could not see. It kept up for at least another ten minutes, before I decided to investigate... see below.
(6) July 20, 2024: Two dogs trapped in hot car, Charlottesville, VA
About 20 minutes after recording the above videos, I began hearing two smaller dogs barking/yelping from the adjoining parking lot. I’d listened to this for at least ten minutes, as I was writing up the blog on the other incident, then decided to go investigate.
This video documents what I found:
I called the police, again (non-emergency line), to advise them of these dogs’ condition, and my contention that if they were left there for much longer, they would begin to be at risk of heatstroke.
The temperature in Charlottesville at 11:30am on July 20, 2014 was approximately 75 degrees. If those dogs had been in that car for at least ten minutes, according to scientific research, the interior temperature had risen to at least 94 degrees. In another ten minutes, the interior temperature would have risen to at least 104 degrees.
About five minutes later I happened to see a man walking in the general direction of this car. I asked someone to watch my computer, and walked to the parking lot to follow him, and sure enough, it was the owner of the dogs.
After he opened the door, I politely (but with frustration, given what happened fifteen minutes earlier) asked him if was aware of how dangerous it is to leave dogs in such conditions. He politely said he was, but that he was only gone for five or six minutes.
I said that that is absolutely not true -- that I’d heard them barking for at least ten minutes, which is what prompted me to try to find them, check on and videotape them. Then, it was at least five minutes after that when finally came to the car -- meaning, the interior temperature of that car rose by roughly 24 degrees, to around 100 degrees.
He acknowledged that he’d been gone longer than he said, and asked if I would like him to take his dogs out and get them in the shade. I said no, that he should open all the car’s windows, turn the AC on full blast and get his dogs into a cool environment, and give them cool water, as fast as possible.
He agreed to do so, sincerely apologized for having done this, and drove away.
(7) September 6, 2014: 2 dogs trapped in hot truck, Charlottesville, VA
On Saturday, September 6, 2014 I was seated outside Hot Cakes restaurant at the Barracks Rd. Shopping Center in Charlottesville, VA, at 11:00am, when I began to hear the muffled sounds of two dogs barking. Because of the background traffic and conversation noise, it was difficult to detect the direction from which the sound was coming. About five minutes after it began, I got up and began to walk around the adjacent parking areas, to see if I could find them.
About five minutes later, I found them: turns out they were practically right in front of me, in a vehicle with the windows almost entirely closed – which is why their sound was so muffled, and their location difficult to detect.
The official local weather resource shows that at 11:00am, the outside temperature was 85 degrees and rising fast.
Although the dogs appear to be in okay shape at the moment I shot this video, given the circumstances, the fact that they’d been in that truck for ten minutes (meaning the interior temperature had risen from 85 degrees to at least 104 degrees), and how quickly the outside temperature was rising, I decided to call the police.
Immediately after, I shot this video to document what I was witnessing:
A few minutes later, I began to shoot another video of the incident (not posted yet), when a young couple emerged from the pharmacy next door, laughing, having a great time, not a care in the world, and unlocked the doors to the truck. From their appearance, I assume they were students at nearby University of Virginia (or high school).
I approached the male and asked him to never leave his dogs in such a situation again. I explained that in the time he was gone, the interior temperature of the vehicle rose at least 19 degrees, meaning that it was now 104 degrees at a minimum – and left there much longer, these dogs would be in heatstroke. I said they basically were sitting there in an oven, with the temperature rising fast.
At first, he seemed surprised at my comments, but then seemed to be sincerely apologetic, and assured me he’d not do such a thing again.
(8) October 12, 2015: 4 dogs locked in hot SUV
October 12, 2015, started off pretty cold, around 45 degrees, but by 12:30pm, it was 74 degrees, sunny, and steadily getting warmer.
As I was existing a Walmart, I noted that at least three dogs (actually four) were locked in the SUV next to my vehicle, with the windows partially open. I felt one of their noses through the opening in the window, and it was extremely hot. I began to give it and another dog water, from an empty coffee cup, into which I poured all of the contents of a bottle of water I keep in my laptop backpack. Two of the dogs drained the entire 20oz bottle of water I had, in less than a minute. I did not observe any water bowls left for the dogs.
As you’ll see in the video I shot, one of the dogs was huddled on the passenger floorboard. It seemed to want some of the water I was giving the other dogs, but was either too weak or disoriented to climb up to be able to reach the cup I was using.
I then called the police, and went back into the store with the vehicle’s license plate number, and had the manager page the owner. I then asked the manager to come out with me into the parking lot so he could observe the situation, and see if there was anything more he could do. He, too, felt one of the dogs’ snouts, and agreed it was very hot.
About ten minutes from the time I called, the police showed up, and a few seconds later, the owner of the vehicle arrived.
The owner was very angry, and openly admitted that the dogs had been in his SUV for at least 30 minutes, but that they were “fine.”
I told the police officers, who were seated in their cruiser – and never emerged to check on the dogs – that the science shows the interior temperature of the SUV was at or above 110 degrees, and had been for some time, which meant these dogs were at risk of heatstroke.
The owner then angrily said to me, “Mind your own business!” I responded by (somewhat angrily) explaining that as I created the HEATKILLS™ project, and have done a massive amount of research on this issue, acting on behalf of dogs such as his, who are left it hot cars, this actually is my business. In response, the police officer in the driver’s seat told me, “Hey! Don’t go there, ease off…” or something very similar.
The officers then told me that the dogs are fine, to not worry about it.
Even though they never left their cruiser.
At that point, I left the scene – but realized that this incident perfectly dovetailed with what the noted veterinarian Dr. Ernie Ward told me in an interview, in which he asserted that many “authorities” are largely or completely unaware of the heatstroke danger to dogs.
A few hours later, I filed a complaint with a senior officer in the police department, who began an investigation. To its credit, the police dept:
(1) Notified me a few days later that it had spoken to the officer, who admitted that (a) he acted towards me exactly as I described, and (b) did not know the science of heatstroke and dogs, as depicted on my website
(2) invited my to police headquarters to give a crash-course on heatstroke to all senior officers, so they can filter it down to the field officers
(9) June 8, 2018: Yellow Lab left in hot car for at least 40 minutes in scorching hot temperature, while owner & family cooled off at water park
Videotaping this shocking incident was the single most personally traumatizing experience I ever had in the context of my HEATKILLS™ project.
On Friday, June 8, 2018 at approximately 3:30pm, I was leaving a Charlottesville, VA water park after having spent a few hours there. The temperature at that time was approximately 85 degrees, with 60% humidity, and practically no wind (3mph).
As I approached my vehicle, in the very full parking lot of about 200 spaces, I saw a Yellow Lab standing in the back seat of a large black SUV that was parked next to me. I consider it a miracle that this happened right next to my vehicle, or else this dog might well have died a horrific death.
After overcoming my initial shock that anyone would leave a dog in a vehicle on such a hot day, in direct sunlight, I noted that (a) there was no water in the vehicle for the dog, and (b) its leash was tied to the driver-side passenger door arm rest.
I immediately retrieved the water bottle out of my backpack, which contained water at slightly lower than air temperature (I’d already consumed the jug of iced beverage I brought with me), and began pouring some into my hand, which the dog frantically lapped up.
I then called the police to report the situation, and answered the dispatcher’s questions as to the location of the vehicle, type of dog, etc. The dispatcher told me that they received another call about this dog about ten minutes earlier (est. 3:20pm), and that they’d get someone out as soon as possible.
I then approached the open window again, and the dog approached me. I reached out to pet it, and see how hot its fur was, but as you can see in the video below, before I could do that, the dog wrapped its mouth around my hand, and began to gently gnaw on it. I felt intense heat in its mouth. If I were to guess, the dog was trying to tell me how hot it was, and to say, "Please, please get it out of this hot vehicle!!!"
You can also see that I swing my camera around to show the water bottle that I placed on the roof of my car, from which I had been serving the dog.
Within the first 8-10 minutes, the dog consumed about 3/4 of the water in that bottle, which contains 22 oz.
I stayed with the dog for approximately 20-22 minutes, until about 3:50pm, when an Albemarle County Animal Control Officer (AC-ACO) arrived. I gave the officer my impression of the situation, but ran into several unfortunate obstacles — the first of which was that she did not have a heat sensor, to determine the interior temperature of the vehicle, with her. I later learned that AC-ACO division has a shortage of these sensors, with which every ACO should be armed.
The ACO then began using her computer to identify the name of the vehicle’s owner.
There’s more to this story, that I won’t go into at this time.
Ultimately,the ACO took the dog out of the SUV, and put it into one of the air-conditioned crates in the back of her vehicle, and wrote out a note for the owner.
About ten minutes after the ACO arrived, I left — at about 4:00pm.
Per the facts as I’ve laid them out here, the dog had been left in that truck for a minimum of 40-45 minutes — but possibly much longer. Given what we know of the science of how quickly the interior temperature of a vehicle rises, even with the windows partially down, and video dramatizations proving this, I estimate that the inside of that SUV rose to a minimum of 126 degrees, with the surface of the seats having risen far higher.
It could have actually been much hotter -- after all, how long had the dog been in the vehicle before the first call placed to police, at about 3:20pm?