There’s a lot wrong with this photo: a puppy left in a car on a day when the temperature is so high above 90 degrees while his owner (probably) watched an entire baseball game. Luckily, fate had other plans for this little dog, and they didn’t include dying of heatstroke that day.
Royals fan Josh Lee, his wife Erin, son Hudson and brother Michael Warner left the game early in the 8th inning, report Kansas City Stars. That’s when they heard muffled sobs as they crossed the parking lot.
They pinpointed the vehicle and saw a stressed puppy, about 16 weeks old, crying in the car. Fortunately, the window cracked just enough for decent spectators to reach through the gap and force the window down far enough to open it from the inside.
“While leaving the game, [we] heard a puppy locked in a car. We rescued the aforementioned dog and … moved it to Royal staff will keep him and deal with the owner, if they ask him. If not, my brother will keep him,” Lee posted on Twitter. “You people are stupid… The windows were cracked… we forced someone down to open the door.”
Rescuers then called the police, who worked with Royals staff to care for the pup for the duration of the game, which lasted another five innings.
“They witnessed/assisted boarding. We have prepared water for him. They took him into the guest service office and left a note for the owner. [If] The owner is not claiming, my brother will keep him,” Lee wrote in a Twitter interview, reporting Kansas City Star.
Without Lee and his family, this little guy could have been trapped in that car for the full 13 innings – and probably wouldn’t have survived. According to the newsletter, no one received the dog an hour after the game ended.
Anthony Mozzicato, the Royals’ director of guest services, said they rescue dogs stuck in cars about once a month, the article reported. He said, “I’m not sure why anyone would do that. It put us in a really awkward situation.”
This puppy was raised while it was lost, but its careless owner never stepped forward to claim it. Josh Lee considered adopting him, but couldn’t due to breed-specific laws in his community. Luckily, his brother was delighted to welcome the pup into his home!
The home team won that day, but Josh Lee and his family were the real heroes of this story.
(h/t: Kansas City Stars)
