Surviving St. Louis-area show dog returns home

ARNOLD, Mo. -- The only one of eight St. Louis-area show dogs to survive being left overnight in a hot van has returned home.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on its website that veterinarians initially feared that the Siberian Husky named Cinder would need to be euthanized. Cinder was in kidney failure when she was taken for treatment along with the seven other dead and dying dogs.

Jefferson County authorities have said the 24-year-old custodian of the dogs had returned home from a show in Iowa around 1 a.m. June 22.

She had planned to put the dogs in kennels in the garage. But because of the heat, she decided to leave the dogs in portable kennels in a van at her home near Arnold. She says she set up fans, left a door open, and left windows partially open.

Authorities continue to investigate the handler's account of what happened.