Man rescues dog from hot car.. Arrested

[The Thomas J]

I will gladly donate to this persons bail/fine/legal defense etc... Hamon did the right thing.

Here is my PSA: If you take your pet in the car with you while you run errands bring a spare set of keys, lock the animal in the car with the engine running an A/C on. Heat stroke can kill a dog in MINUTES. So the i'll be out in a minute BS holds no water with me. Everyone always has the same excuse. It's never a minute. But a minute is all it takes for your pet to DIE a horrible death. Smarten up people.

[flyonpa]

Originally Posted by PedroMartinez

I'm interested in what the outside temperature was, if the windows were cracked, how long she was gone and what the inside temperature of the car was.

I mean, if it was 80 degrees outside and the woman cracked the windows and was gone for 10 minutes, I can't see the need to damage her car.

Too many unknown factors to really make a call on this.

11a-noon it was 75f in Athens GA.

[katharsis]

Originally Posted by The Thomas J

I will gladly donate to this persons bail/fine/legal defense etc... Hamon did the right thing.

Here is my PSA: If you take your pet in the car with you while you run errands bring a spare set of keys, lock the animal in the car with the engine running an A/C on. Heat stroke can kill a dog in MINUTES. So the i'll be out in a minute BS holds no water with me. Everyone always has the same excuse. It's never a minute. But a minute is all it takes for your pet to DIE a horrible death. Smarten up people.

Please post a link to any article from any reputable news source that said that a dog died after being in a hot car with the windows cracked, with the outside temperate being less than 90 degrees, in less than a minute. Otherwise, I will be the one calling BS. (And if you can post a link to such an article, then I sincerely apologize for my ignorance.)

However, I do very much appreciate your concern for animals!

[flyonpa]

Police Dogs are often left in the Police Car, (with the A/C on),

I seriously doubt the police department wants you breaking their window if you see a dog in the car.

Also the dog might bite/attack you, get loose. That's what they don't want you breaking the window on the car for pets. You can call the Non/Emergency Police number, a officer or animal control will be send.

[bagster]

Looks like the City of Athens primary interest is in the collection of geetus.

[intelfan11315]

Originally Posted by whocares811

Okay, at the risk of inciting some general wrath here --

First, I am a dog lover, and I have a 75-pound Lab mix. One morning last summer, it was 85 degrees, and after dropping my husband off at work, I took my dog for a walk and then on the way home, I stopped at the grocery store for ONLY one gallon of milk, leaving her in the car with ALL the windows cracked open about one inch. I was actually paying, when some woman came in angrily yelling about a dog being left in a white car and "barking her head off". I said that it was mine, that I only had this one item, and I would be right out -- whereupon I was submitted to a lecture about the dangers of leaving a pet in a hot car (something I was very well aware of).

I told her that I had only been in the store for a couple of minutes and thanked her as politely as I could for her concern, but it really irked me that someone would immediately jump to conclusions, as I had been in the store for a total of about three minutes, at most. (And, btw, as it was about 9:00 a.m. on a weekday and as there were less than ten cars in the parking lot, I knew that I could almost certainly just dash in and dash out; and if I had been wrong, I would have left the milk behind.)

My point is that unless that dog is obviously foaming at the mouth or going into some kind of heat prostration or is in obvious physical distress, I think it is not too much to ask to wait a COUPLE of minutes (only) to see if the owner appears before breaking a window. (The reason I say obvious physical distress is because my dog will immediately raise a noisy fuss at being left alone in a car even on cool and rainy days.)


P.S. However, to reassure those who might still be concerned, I have never again left her in a car on a hot day for even ONE minute!

I was thinking the same exact thing.

Also, majority of these people are doing these ridiculous things because they're hoping to go viral.

[Chilipepper35]

Originally Posted by Tumf

I think that them taking him in and charging him with ANYTHING is ridiculous!
Put the owner of the car - with the windows up and the car not running, in the car for as long as he/she was in the store.
Let THEM feel hot quickly it gets incredibly hot inside a parked vehicle.

I agree!

[JD59]

ATHENS, Ga., May 12 (UPI) -- Police in Athens, Ga., have arrested a man who broke the window of a hot car to free a dog locked inside.

Michael Hammons, a Gulf War veteran, told WXIA that he approached the parked Ford Mustang after he "heard someone say there was a dog in distress."

Georgia man arrested for breaking into hot car to save dog - UPI.com

[JaxRhapsody]

Stay away from peoples property, pretty simple.

[notmeofficer]

Good call citing them both... let the court figure this out

Window breaker gets a ticket because a misdemeanor not committed in the presence of police will be cited by law if demanded by the citizen...which was case
Driver got the "I'm stupid" ticket

I think window breaker will pay for the window and nothing more will hsppen

I saw the window breaker interviewed.. seemed like he might have issues going on...
I would always err on the side of safety for animals but be reasonable...