Wheeling pet resort owner charged after dog dies in hot van

The owner of a pet resort in northwest suburban Wheeling has been charged after the death of a dog that was left inside a hot van.

The Wheeling Police Department confirmed Ross Niehaus, the owner of Waggles Pet Resort, was charged with cruel treatment of animals. He was released and is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 25.

The Serota family in Deerfield said employees there left their dog, Miller, inside a hot van for seven hours.

Miller went to Waggles Pet Resort in Wheeling three times a week. A Waggles van would pick him up from his Deerfield home and take him to the facility for the day.

Serota said Miller was picked up Wednesday around 9 a.m. Then, just after 4 p.m., he got a call.

"They tell me Miller's died," Serota recounted. "And I'm in full shock, and I'm like what happened? How is that possible? And they told me they left him in the van for the whole day."

Serota said when he rushed to Waggles, he discovered Miller not breathing, still inside the crate, in the same spot where he'd been picked up in the company van. He said Miller had never been taken into the facility on a day when temperatures reached the mid-90s.

"How? This is so irrational how this could ever happen," Serota said. "You trust that these people, who you entrust your loved ones with, that they're going to take care of them like they're their loved ones. And we've always trusted Miller with these folks."

He's now calling for a full investigation into what went wrong.