Woman ‘sorry for being ‘selfish’ after dog dies in backyard heat

A Las Vegas woman whose dog died of apparent heat stroke after being locked in a crate outside for over 20 hours told police she was “sorry for being so selfish,” according to an arrest report.

Olivia Underwood, 30, said she put her French bulldog Jazzy in a locked crate and left her in the backyard near her home in southeast Las Vegas before she left for work on Friday, a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report said.

Underwood, an employee at University Medical Center, told police she worked a 12-hour shift before returning to her home on Frances Celia Avenue, just west of Clark County Wetlands Park, at about 7 a.m. Saturday.

She said she then fell asleep “with her scrubs on,” according to the report, and forgot to check on her dog. At about 1 p.m. that day, Underwood said she woke up and was told by her children that people were “in the backyard” checking on the dog.

When Underwood entered the backyard, she saw that some of her neighbors had gotten the crate open and taken the dog out, though Jazzy was “stiff with all her paws extended,” the report said.

According to police and weather reports, Las Vegas temperatures shot past 100 degrees on Saturday.

Clark County Animal Protection Services retrieved Jazzy’s body after officials determined the dog had died. A necropsy was scheduled to determine cause of death, according to the report, though the report stated the dog died from “what appeared to be heat stroke.”

While being interviewed by police on Saturday, Underwood said if Jazzy were still alive, she would “tell her she is sorry; she is sorry for being so selfish,” according to the report.

Underwood was arrested and booked into the Clark County Detention Center on a felony charge of willful and malicious torture, maiming or killing of a dog, police said.

Online court records showed that Underwood posted bail and was released from custody. Underwood, who has been registered with the Nevada State Board of Nursing as a certified nursing assistant since 2013, is scheduled for a status check appearance in Las Vegas Justice Court on July 2.

Previous to Saturday, Underwood also had three documented incidents with Animal Protection Services in Clark County, including a 2016 complaint where she was alleged to have left a pit bull outside “with not enough shelter” in 35-degree weather.

Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.