Trussville PD Rescues Dog From Hot Car

TRUSSVILLE, AL - The Birmingham area is seeing some of the hottest days of the year, and some of the most vulnerable to the extreme heat are pets. The Trussville Police Department had to come to the aid of one local pet, as an officer had to break a car window to rescue a dog stuck in a hot car over the weekend.

A concerned citizen first called from the Pinnacle Shopping Center at 2:36 p.m. Sunday, according to a Trussville Tribune report. The caller said the dog had been locked inside a Lexus for more than an hour.

When the officer arrived, he noted the dog was panting and appeared distressed, so he broke the window and opened the door. The dog was taken out of the vehicle and given water. Animal Control was called and took the dog to the Greater Birmingham Human Society for evaluation and treatment.

The owner claimed she had only been inside the shopping center for 15 minutes. The woman was ticketed for animal abuse.

Last year, there were two reported cases in Trussville of people leaving dogs in hot cars. In one instance, the dog died after being left in the Walmart parking lot for several hours, and the owner was charged with a felony.

In the other, the dog was fortunately rescued in time. That case happened in the Sam's Club parking lot in Trussville.

The American Veterinary Medical Association says hundreds of pets die every year after being left in parked vehicles. The AVMA says the temperature inside a vehicle can rise quickly and even on a 70-degree day, the inside of a vehicle can reach 110-degrees. Leaving a pet inside a vehicle can be deadly and cracking a window makes no difference.