{"id":326757,"date":"2026-05-21T21:26:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T21:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/326757\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T21:26:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T21:26:10","slug":"german-shepherd-dies-after-being-left-in-locked-car-twice-in-long-beach-police-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/326757\/","title":{"rendered":"German shepherd dies after being left in locked car twice in Long Beach; police probe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Yellow<\/p>\n

Long Beach Police have launched an investigation into the death of a three-legged German shepherd, as a resident who twice reported the dog being left in a car this month said it could have been saved if officers had intervened sooner.<\/p>\n

The dog may still be alive, residents say, if police had seized it during either of two incidents on May 7 and May 18, when the same woman is believed to have left the animal in a bright canary-yellow Mustang with the windows closed or barely cracked.<\/p>\n

The German shepherd was reportedly found dead on May 20 in a parking lot on Shore Road between Monroe and Lincoln, near the boardwalk, with social media posts<\/a> alleging the dog\u2019s body had been left in the lot and that a distinctive yellow Mustang was at the scene.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis never should have happened the second time around,\u201d a Long Beach resident who said they reported both incidents told Greater Long Island.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dog deserved better,\u201d added the source, who asked to remain anonymous.<\/p>\n

Long Beach Police confirmed that an investigation into the dog\u2019s death is ongoing, but did provide any details.<\/p>\n

Greater Long Island contacted a Long Beach police lieutenant seeking further comment but did not immediately receive a response. The outlet was later directed to Long Beach Police public information officer John McNally.<\/p>\n

He said the department does not comment on matters involving an active investigation, while declining to address questions about the prior police responses to reports involving the dog.<\/p>\n

First incident: Dog left overnight, windows closed<\/p>\n

The first call about the dog being left alone in a car came about 7 a.m. on May 7, when a Long Beach resident walking near the 300 block of Beach Street spotted movement inside a parked yellow Mustang with a vanity plate reading \u201cMYBAD302.\u201d<\/p>\n

The resident said she recognized the car from around town and was alarmed to see a German Shepherd looking up from the back seat with the windows completely shut and no food or water visible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI touched the hood of the vehicle to see if maybe the dog\u2019s owner had just ran inside, but the car was cold,\u201d the resident said. \u201cThis car had not moved in a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

The resident said she called Long Beach police, who responded along with animal control, she said. Officers then located the owner nearby.<\/p>\n

The Long Beach source heard the German shepherd\u2019s owner tell authorities she had \u201cfallen on hard times\u201d and was keeping the dog in the car because the hotel she was temporarily living in \u2014 Long beach Hotel \u2014 doesn\u2019t allow pets.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear how dog-friendly the Long Beach Hotel is. The hotel is hosting a Doggie Brunch on May 31. Hotel ownership could not immediately be reached for comment; an employee noted the hotel\u2019s pet policy does not permit dogs to stay overnight.<\/p>\n

\"\"Facebook<\/p>\n

Police in the May 7 incident issued the woman a ticket for an apparent vehicle inspection violation and let her leave with the dog after she promised to find it placement, the resident said.<\/p>\n

Second incident: Woman drives off with dog<\/p>\n

Eleven days later, on the morning of May 18, the same yellow Mustang was parked on East Beach between Lincoln and Franklin \u2014 just blocks from Long Beach Hotel, according to the same Long Beach resident, who again called police. <\/p>\n

This time, the windows were cracked only an inch or two, and the front seats had been pushed all the way back, obscuring the view into the rear where the dog was kept, according to the resident, whose home security camera captured the owner parking the car and walking away overnight.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt 7:33 in the morning, it was already 67 degrees,\u201d the resident said. \u201cThe dog was in the back seat, panting.\u201d<\/p>\n

The individual called police but they did not immediately respond to the location of the car. After 30 minutes, the Long Beach resident phoned the police department again. <\/p>\n

The same officer from the May 7 incident responded and confirmed it was the same dog, according to the resident, who recorded the police response from her porch.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said, \u2018Yeah, it\u2019s the same dog. Yeah, no food or water visible,’\u201d the resident recalled.<\/p>\n

The witness said that an officer drove off from the scene, and then returned with the dog\u2019s owner. Further, during a brief conversation, the dog owner promised she would take the dog to stay with her sister.<\/p>\n

Police let her leave with the animal, the witness said.<\/p>\n

The witness who phoned police recorded the May 18 police response and provided footage to Greater Long Island.<\/p>\n

In the video, a Long Beach Police squad car arrives at the scene, and a female officer and a woman emerge from the vehicle. A few moments later, the plainclothes woman who exited the police vehicle is seen getting into the yellow Mustang and driving away.<\/p>\n

The video still below shows the woman driving off in the Mustang.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI was not happy,\u201d the resident said. \u201c[The police] should have just taken the dog.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dog found dead two days later<\/p>\n

On May 20, the German Shepherd was reportedly discovered dead in an open parking lot near the boardwalk.<\/p>\n

A witness reported seeing the yellow Mustang at the scene between 11:30 a.m. and noon, according to an \u201cUrgent\u201d post in the Long Beach City Facebook group requesting camera footage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout compromising the integrity of the investigation, a dead German Shepard with 3 legs was involved,\u201d the post stated.<\/p>\n

\u2018This could have been avoided\u2019<\/p>\n

The case has sparked outrage in Long Beach, with dozens of angry comments flooding social media posts about the dog\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

The resident who reported both incidents had posted anonymously to the Long Beach City Facebook group after each encounter, sharing photos of the car and asking the community to watch for the vehicle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a feeling this was not a one-time thing,\u201d the resident said.<\/p>\n

After learning the dog had died, the resident feels some guilt for not doing more \u2014 but believes firmly the police should have taken a different route toward guaranteeing the German shepherd\u2019s safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe second time, they should have just taken the dog,\u201d said the resident, who questioned why animal control didn\u2019t connect the owner with local rescue organizations that could have provided temporary foster care while the woman got back on her feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey should have directed her to a rescue. I did all I could to help this dog, and I had such a bad feeling the first time I called police.\u201d<\/p>\n

Top: courtesy photos<\/p>\n

\"Your
\n Your Long Island news, delivered.<\/p>\n

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Subscribe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Long Beach Police have launched an investigation into the death of a three-legged German shepherd, as a resident…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":326758,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[27975,18642,47231,21672,135842,135843,60718,135844,131,133,132,129809,10771,99578,2887,4822,135845,135846],"class_list":["post-326757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-animal-control","tag-animal-cruelty","tag-animal-neglect","tag-boardwalk","tag-dog-death","tag-dogs-left-in-cars","tag-german-shepherd","tag-greater-long-island","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-long-beach-ny","tag-long-beach-police","tag-long-island-news","tag-nassau-county","tag-pets","tag-shore-road","tag-yellow-mustang"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/326758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}