BELOIT, Wis. -- A woman was arrested in Beloit after her dog died in a car left in a store parking lot.

Beloit police responded to a Walmart parking lot on the 2700 block of Milwaukee Road at 12:45 p.m. on Tuesday after an employee reported that a dog was locked inside a hot car.

Police said the 2-year-old pit bull was trapped inside a Chevy Monte Carlo without sufficient ventilation. The temperature outside was 86 degrees, and authorities said the dog was in extreme distress.

Officers were unable to contact the dog's owner to unlock the car so officers broke out the windows of the car in an attempt to rescue the dog. Rock County Animal Control assisted in recovering the dog from the car, but the animal died at the scene.

"Animals don't perspire. The only way they give off their heat energy is through breathing or the pads of their feet. So if they are panting and breathing in that hot air, there's no chance for them to cool off," said James Hurley, of the Rock County Humane Society.

Officials said they believe the dog had been left in the vehicle for nearly four hours.

The dog's owner, Anisha Butalla, of Wausau, returned to the car while authorities were still there. She was arrested on charges of felony mistreatment of an animal resulting in death.

Butalla reportedly had left the dog in the car while she attended a court matter in Janesville. She remained in the Rock County Jail on Wednesday.

The Dane County Humane Society and Animal Services said that animals left in locked cars is a problem that is too common.

Last week, Animal Services broke into a car in the East Towne Mall parking lot after a dog was left in a vehicle.

"In the vehicle the dog was showing signs of heat stress -- excessive panting, shade seeking, trying to dig its way out under the seat," said Patrick Comfert, an Animal Services lead worker.

The owner was fined $482 for animal cruelty.

Animal Services in Dane County said it enters vehicles several times each month when animals are showing signs of danger.

It's violation of a Madison ordinance to leave an animal in a vehicle for more than 15 minutes, WISC-TV reported.