Jennifer Beals has been dealing with some heavy criticism ever since she left her German Shepherd in her SUV on Wednesday in Vancouver on what was apparently a pretty hot day. The "Flashdance" actress was only gone about five minutes and did leave the window cracked a few inches, but Marcie Moriarty of the SPCA has said that doing this is "definitely not" enough.
Luckily, the dog remained unharmed, but what's bothering people the most is that when confronted about the situation by a man named Dustin Goetz once she returned to her car, all Beals had to say was, "It's fine," The Global News reported. Goetz reported the incident to the police anyways.
Moriarty revealed that, "In this temperature, I don't think that [leaving the window cracked] would necessarily create the type of cooling effect that would ever be sufficient."
Beals has now come out to defend herself, claiming that she has "loved dogs her whole life," according to CNN.
"They've been in my life since the day I was born," she said in her statement. "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."
She then went on to correct the original report, stating that it was a cool 73 degrees, not a hot 77 degrees like it had been reported, and that she had rolled more than just the passenger window down.
"I, and others, were wearing jackets," she continued to say. "I rolled all four windows down and left the car for five minutes to pick up laundry, my car visible to me the entire time. I wondered why two people were congregated by my car taking pictures of my girl. Proud mama thought it was because she's so gorgeous. While I appreciate their vigilance and what must have felt like courage on their part, they were barking up the wrong tree."
