Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers are being hailed as heroes after rescuing a mother dog and her puppy from the back seat of a hot car earlier this month.
Although the car was parked in a covered garage, the outside temperature reached nearly 96 degrees. A kind guard noticed the dogs in distress and called the police immediately.
The car was parked in plenty of places for the Wild Wild West Gambling Lobby – and the owners of the dogs were probably gambling inside.
When officers arrived, they found two dogs inside the vehicle struggling to breathe and gasp. The sunroof and rear window are left slightly open, but there’s no circulation in the dry, foul air.
Because of the dogs in the backseat, one of the quick-thinking officers decided to smash the front passenger side window to get them safely. Full-body footage shows the dogs tired and panting in the arms of another officer.
One of the dogs couldn’t stop wagging her tail when she realized she was finally saved. After the daring rescue, the dogs were taken by patrol car to the local veterinary office where they were cared for. Fortunately, both dogs were unharmed in the incident.
“Recently, our officers were forced to break the car windows to save the dogs in distress,” the department posted on Facebook. “The heat in Las Vegas is deadly and it’s too hot to leave animals and pets in a car. In two unrelated cases, we saved the lives of three poor puppies and arrested one owner.”
In Nevada, it’s a misdemeanor to leave an animal unattended in a car “If the conditions, including but not limited to, are too hot or too cold, pose a significant risk to the health and safety of the pet.”
Across the country, 31 states have similar, different laws about who can rescue animals. Fifteen states allow anyone to rescue an animal in distress, while in Nevada, only public safety officers and animal control officers can do so on private property.
While it is not clear if the owners of the dogs have been arrested, many people on social media have called for them to be taken away.
“Oh my gosh – thank you so much Metro,” wrote one concerned person. “You are the angels chosen that day to rescue those children. Please, please don’t let them go back to that horrible person.”
H/T: Newsweek
Featured pictures: Screenshot via LVMPD / Facebook
