Sniffer dog cruelty

41-year-old Corrective Services Officer Joshua Peterson was found guilty of aggravated cruelty towards a sniffer dog by the name of Rookie died after being locked in a car for five days.

The poor dog Rookie was locked inside of the back of a car for five days straight in absolutely sweltering heat which reached up to 50C.

Peterson claimed that he had forgotten about Rookie, who was a border collie. Photos were shown in the Windsor Local Court showing how Rookie tried to dig his way out of the car in desperation.

The court was told that with temperates going up to 50C inside of the vehicle, Rookie would have died within a few hours.

Ellen Forsyth left Peterson in charge of 11-year-old Rookie when she left on March 22nd. When she returned on March 26th, she found the body of Rookie still in his cage, in the back of her department station wagon.

Forsyth broke down in tears when Peterson was found guilty of aggravated animal cruelty. Peterson has since resigned after 11 years in the department. He will be sentenced on March 6th.