Dog Left in Hot Vehicle Outside Pennsylvania Casino Dies, Owner Charged With Felony Animal Cruelty
Posted on: July 2, 2025, 04:56h.
Last updated on: July 2, 2025, 06:32h.
- A Pennsylvania man is facing felony charges after leaving his dog unattended outside a casino
- The tragic incident occurred outside Parx Casino near Philadelphia
- Pennsylvania gaming regulators continue to stress that children cannot be left in unattended vehicles
A man has been charged with animal cruelty after police say he left his dog in his vehicle outside Parx Casino near Philadelphia on a hot day last weekend.
Law enforcement alleges that Andrew DeShield, 62, of Bensalem, where Parx is located roughly 20 air miles north of Philadelphia’s Center City, left his pit bull mix named Gucci inside his vehicle while he was gambling for some time inside Parx. After responding to the scene after casino security called police for a dog left unattended in a vehicle, first responders found Gucci to be overheated with a body temperature of 108 degrees Fahrenheit.
Gucci was rushed to a nearby animal hospital. But when DeShield was located by security, he quickly went to the vet and took the dog without Gucci receiving treatment for heatstroke. Police paid DeShield a visit the next day only to find Gucci deceased in the back of his car.
DeShield was arrested and remains in the Bucks County Correctional Center in lieu of $200,000 bail. He’s charged with three felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals causing death, along with several misdemeanors for cruelty and neglect of an animal. 6ABC first reported on the story.
A person found guilty of a felony count of aggravated cruelty to animals in Pennsylvania faces up to seven years in prison and fines of up to $15,000.
Pennsylvania court records show DeShield was previously convicted of felony counts of drug possession with the intent to manufacture and/or distribute.
Hot Summer
2025 has brought what feels like an unprecedentedly hot summer to much of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, including Pennsylvania. June was marked by generally warm to hot days and several heat waves, one of which came last week when the tragic death of Gucci occurred.
The temperature in Bensalem neared 90 degrees last Sunday. The National Weather Service explains that a non-running parked vehicle on such a 90-degree day can quickly reach temperatures of 130 degrees within just an hour.
Cars can quickly heat up to dangerous temperatures, even with a window cracked open,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. Children and animals are especially at risk of heat stroke, the federal health agency added.
It’s why the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) has made it a focus to reduce incidences of children being left unattended in vehicles. In 2022, the state gaming agency launched a PSA called “Don’t Gamble With Kids.”
The awareness initiative is a campaign aimed at preventing children from being left unattended in a vehicle while their adult supervisor (parent, relative, guardian) gambles or patronizes a casino.
Excluded Persons List
People found to violate the Pennsylvania law regarding leaving children unattended outside a casino face a lifetime ban by the casino where the incident took place, and their involuntary placement on the PGCB’s Exclusion List, where individuals lose their privileges of gambling inside all brick-and-mortar casinos throughout the commonwealth.
Last week, the state placed three additional adults on the Exclusion List for leaving children unattended in vehicles.
A male patron left his three-year-old in the parking lot of Rivers Casino Philadelphia for four minutes to place a sports bet inside (online sports betting is legal in Pennsylvania). A male and female who left a five-year-old child in a non-running vehicle while they gambled for 50 minutes inside Parx Casino were also excluded.
Last Comments ( 2 )
Bum, could have help for the dog but didn’t! Was he too high!
Unattended kids in cars. Former PA Gaming Control Board (PGCB) Commissioner Sean Logan had a laser focus on finding a solution to this apparently unsolvable problem. His goal was never achieved. Earlier in Commissioner Logan's career he proudly served as Chairman of the PA Turnpike Commission. Keeping that in mind, in January 2023 I emailed a suggested solution to the Executive Staff at the PGCB. It was promptly ignored and then quickly dismissed. Most of us can remember the "gated vehicle entry" process used at the toll booths on toll roads before we had the E-ZPass process that is now in place. Use that same "toll booth" process at the entry point to every casino parking lot or parking garage. No vehicle with a minor could get past that gated parking lot entry point staffed 24/7 at every casino in Pennsylvania. Commissioner Logan would be thrilled to see this recommended solution implemented by the PGCB. Maybe he'd even ask his former PGCB colleagues, "Why didn't I think of that?" They would predictably reply by pointing out that idea is clearly cost prohibitive. That's an immediate indicator of the PGCB's limited resourcefulness. The gated entry points could easily be staffed in rotation by the same security team members that patrol the parking lots now. Problem solved.