Jennifer Beals Off The Hook After Leaving Dog Inside Car On Summer Day, SPCA Decides Not To Investigate

Jennifer Beals is reportedly off the hook after the actress was caught leaving a dog inside a car on a summer day.

The Flashdance actress was caught on video this week leaving her German Shepherd inside a car in Vancouver. When a passerby confronted Beals over the incident, she defended it, saying it was “fine” to have the dog inside the car.

Apparently authorities are not willing to press the issue. On Friday the SPCA in Vancouver announced that it would not be investigating the incident, News 1130 reported.

Marcie Moriarty said the incident is a chance for people to think about the best ways to keep their animals safe in the hot weather.

“The temperature is warm. I think this is an education opportunity. I don’t doubt that she loves her dog and I very much appreciate her comments around caring for her animals,” Moriarty said.

Moriarty added that it can only take 10 minutes inside a car during the summer for a dog to begin to suffer.

“I think this is an opportunity to highlight, for conscious animal lovers, that they need to make other provisions in this heat. She probably shouldn’t have been running her dry cleaning with her dog in the car.”

Jennifer Beals told the person who confronted her that she was just picking up dry cleaning, but many people disagreed. The video had many on the internet up in arms, but it also brought many defenders. Salon noted that the outrage was misplaced, and that it was a misstep at worst.

“It’s crazy making when a relatively minor social infractions — or those that don’t actually directly concern the furious person live tweeting it — become major news events. So let’s just dial it the hell down. Let’s try to keep the frothing somewhat proportional to the perceived crime. Because even though it seems like we’ll never run out of things to be apoplectic about, indignation is a really sad means of feeling better about ourselves. When everything’s outrageous nothing’s outrageous.”

As outrage over the incident spread, she issued a full statement saying that she would never intentionally harm an animal.

“I have loved dogs my whole life,” she said in a statement. “They’ve been in my life since the day I was born.”

“Every dog I’ve had has been a rescue. I would never ever jeopardize an animal’s safety. Ever. I’ve worked with dogs in obedience, agility and shepherding training. I am not only a loving dog owner but a discerning one.”

Jennifer Beals added that the day was cool enough to need a jacket in the morning, adding that she was gone from the car no more than five minutes. She also said that all four of her windows were rolled down.

[Picture by Larry Busacca/Getty Images]