Portsmouth, New Hampshire, police say a Maine woman accused of leaving her brother's dog in a hot car has abandoned the animal, and its owner has made no attempt to contact authorities.
Twenty-one-year-old Nakita Haller of Portland was charged with two counts of animal cruelty on Monday, two days after she is accused of leaving the black lab mix in a car in Portsmouth for more than two hours with just the windows cracked.
Authorities say Haller called police hours after officers removed the dog and took it to a veterinary hospital, saying the dog was her brother's and that she was on her way to the hospital to cooperate. But police say she never showed up to the hospital. Instead, police say she turned herself in at the police department around 11:30 p.m.
Since her arrest, Haller has refused to identify her brother, according to authorities. Police are asking anyone with information to call Officer Max Webber at 603-610-7509.
A phone number for Haller could not be found Tuesday. It is unknown if she has a lawyer.
