Man rescues dog in hot car after 'waiting long enough'
Temperatures were over 30 degrees that day
Gerasimos Klonis immediately became concerned when he noticed a panicked dog that was locked inside of a hot car desperately pawing at the windows. The hot conditions made Klonis concerned, as temperatures were higher than 32°C that day in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Klonis and his girlfriend were having lunch at a nearby restaurant when they noticed the dog locked in the car that was parked next to theirs. They could hear the dog crying and waited for several minutes in hopes that the owner would return.
After no signs of the owner, Klonis dialled 911. The dog’s behaviour became increasingly distressed and after 10 minutes had passed after calling 911 with no signs of first responders, Klonis shattered a window in the car to save the dog.
"We didn't feel comfortable waiting too long, because every minute counts" explains Klonis in the video above. "I didn't want to break that guy's window, but at the same time I didn't want to see a dog die."
After guiding the dog out of the car, Klonis helped it drink from his water bottle. Klonis confronted the dog's owner, who was later cited with animal cruelty by the City of Albuquerque's Animal Welfare Department. Klonis says that this citing makes him feel like he did the right thing.
The National Safety Council (NSC) states that temperatures inside vehicles can reach life-threatening levels on mild or cloudy days. Each year dozens of pets and children die in hot cars, and the NSC says children and pets should never be left unattended inside a vehicle.
