It’s Against the Law to Break a Window to Save a Dog in a Hot Car

Do you sometimes take your dog (or cat) with you when you run errands in the car?

When the weather is hot, do you leave your pet alone in the car?

If so, you can be fined or sentenced to jail, according to a new, proposed bill. Plus, if the animal actually dies, it would be considered a felony. Oh, yeah.

Have you ever been going through a parking lot and seen a dog in a car, alone, in hot weather, with windows rolled up? Most of us have. Have you been tempted to do something about it? Like smash a window and give that poor animal some cooler/fresher air? If you decide to take that matter into your own hands, you can definitely be prosecuted.

So - let's understand this -
1) If you leave your pet unattended in a sweltering car with windows rolled up, you can be prosecuted.
2) If you attempt to save a pet from suffering and/or dying from being trapped in a hot car, by smashing the window or damaging the vehicle, you can ALSO be prosecuted.

According to Julie Barber of the Kalamazoo Humane Society, “It's not uncommon on a day like we've been having the last few days for temperatures to get up to 150 degrees inside a car in a very short span of time and even if your dog doesn't die in that heat, it can have lasting health, or permanent health consequences for doing it.”

Even if you keep your car windows open a little bit, it doesn't matter. Not enough fresh or cooler air can get in to give your pet an amount of relief...it can still get over 100 degrees inside. Animals are covered in fur, remember? Some people don't think about it or they just ignore it.

This new proposed bill has cleared a state senate committee and now needs to be voted on. Until that day comes, and if you come across a pet suffering in a hot car, seek an alternative way to save it...without damaging the car. Maybe go inside the building where the car is parked and have someone make an announcement over the PA system?

Any suggestions?

The video below tries to help with suggestions of its own.....