A police officer in Bradenton, Florida came across a crying dog who was locked in a hot car on Monday, July 8th and did what almost any of us would do, he broke the window to rescue the trapped pooch. The officer's bodycam recorded the harrowing rescue, and you can see the relieve in the dog's face when the officer is able to pull her through the window.

The Weather Channel shared the video on Saturday, July 13th. It starts with the officer, who remained calm, trying to reassure the dog as he prepared to break the glass.  After breaking the glass, the grateful pup drank an entire liter of water before being taken to a veterinarian for a check-up.

The Weather Channel said in the video that it was 90 degrees that day and the temperature inside the locked car would've been even hotter. In fact, they said that in just 30 minutes the inside of the car could have heated up to 125 degrees or even more.

Commenters appreciated the officer's efforts to save the helpless pup, and many were outraged that the dog was left in a locked car in the Florida summer heat in the first place. @Sherri Lynn was outraged, "How absolutely CARELESS AND INHUMANE!" @Mackenzie said, "Why? I will never understand this." and @Nicole Ann wondered, "HTF are you seriously going to explain this one?"

Never Leave An Animal Inside a Locked Car

The Bradenton Police Department posted on Facebook after the event that Sgt. Bordin broke the window of a white SUV to get to the crying pup. In the social media post, the police department said that the car was off, and the windows were cracked less than an inch. They added, "The temperature inside the vehicle was significantly higher, and it appeared the dog had been left alone for quite some time." Fortunately, police were able to locate the dog's owner after the rescue. As of this writing, the dog is still in the custody of animal services as the police continue their investigation into the matter.

This story infuriated me! Why are we still having this conversation and why are people still okay with locking their pets inside of a car in the middle of summer? It seems like it should be common sense NOT to do this, yet these stories keep popping up.

Locking an animal inside of a hot car can cause heat stroke and even death...even if it's just for a 'few minutes' as people as claim. A 2005 study from the American Academy of Pediatrics states that outside temperatures of around 70 degrees can heat the inside of a car to over 115 degrees within minutes. Hill’s Pet Nutrition claims that dogs begin to experience heat exhaustion when their body temperature hits 103 degrees. They also say it's safe to leave your dog in the car for no more than five minutes - if the outside temperature is above freezing and below 70 degrees. Leaving them inside a vehicle when it's hotter is never recommended.

I will continue to follow this story and look for updates to share. I'm really curious as to what the dog's owner had to say about why they left their fur baby in a locked car without air conditioning. Whatever the excuse, it won't be a good enough one for me.