Hi, 2 days ago, i was walking through a carpark, when i saw a newfoundland in a car, this was a bloody hot day, and this dog looked in real distress, it was lying flat out, panting like mad, and was quite wet.
I called the RSPCA right at once, and they said they would get to me in 30 mins, as there had a large number of calls in! if i had waited that long the dog would be dead.
I wasnt havent any of that, so first went into the store in the carpark, and asked for an announcement to be made, to see if anyone came forward, noone did.

So i went back to the car, broke the window and rescued the dog, i took him to the store in the shade and got him some water , he didnt look very well atall, he was really in a bad way, suffering from heat stroke.

I rang my vet, and asked for him to come out right away, which he did, while the vet was seeing to the dog, i saw the owners at their car, they were shouting and screaming, so i ran over and explained what i had done, they called the police, and said i had no right, well yeah they are right, im now facing criminal charges, but all because i saved that dogs life, fair? i dont think so!

In the case of calling out the RSPCA to a case like this I was told they have to contact the Police to break into a vehicle for them anyway as they dont personally have the right

What an awful situation to be in. What did the police say about you saving the dog? Also if you have to go to court maybe your vet can give evidence about the condition of the dog and that you did the right thing getting him out. Remember YOU were the one who put the announcment over the store to find the owner, you didn't just simply break into their car. Another thing is; dogs are protected by law and the public have a civic juty to protect/prevent them from harm. You did the right thing, let us know what happens, good luck.

kat

Well done - I hope it all works out OK for you.

Think with the vets report and may be the stores to show you did your best to find them you will be ok and will not be fined, the fact remains you have a police record and that takes some time to be removed from your records. If you know the dogs owners may be an offer to pay for the damage and an apeal to their better nature and they may drop charges. The police may be able to advise too.

Having said that well done you, we all know we should not take the law into our own hands but most of us would do the same as you did, could try enlisting the help of the local paper.

A national like the Daily Mail which professes to like dogs might be helpful too as contact. They would probably pay you for your story and it might be enough to cover the cost of the damage.

Have the police pursued this case to court ? Just that I would have thought the owners would have taken out a civil case for the cost of damage to their car ???

I hope all works out ok for you. Let us all know.
You were very brave and should be commended.
Nutkin

Go to the papers and get on board all the help you can get.  At least running the story in the papers might shame the owners into behaving more responsibly next time.

Well done but perhaps next time phone the police before breaking window!!

If they have got fully comp insurance then all they have to do is claim. It will cost 50 pound excess but they WONT loose their no claims. If not and its the back window you broke it will cost about 300 pounds to get it repaired. I don't blame you if i saw a dog in that condition i would do the same. You did try to contact the owners but they were too stupid to act, they should never of left that poor dog in that car in the first place. Did the car have proper ventilation? or were the windows just slightly opened? You could use this and evidence that the dog could of died if no ventilation was allowed. Hope it all works out for you.

Good for you rescuing the dog.  People are so thoughtless - how would they have felt if they came back and their dog was dead!  Hopefully, everthing will turn out okay for you - I think going to the papers is a good idea.  Their car insurance might cover it, but not only would they have to pay the excess, they would lose their no claims also, but to be honest, they would still be getting off lightly.  They should be rewarding you!!

Fiona

The insurance will almost certainly pay for the window to be replaced but I think I should point out that they will almost certainly attempt to recover the cost from you. If you refuse to pay I imagine they will take you to court and you could then end up paying their costs as well!

It might have been well meaning but it could cost you a lot of money!

Sorry to point that out, John

Doing right by the law is not always the same as doing right. You did the right thing. You may have to pay, but your conscience will be free. But then again, with the vet's help and store owner's, a sympathetic judge may waive the charges under the circumstances. Just think how you'd feel if you didn't save that dog but didn't have this legal problem......worse? I think so.

Carrie

You absolutely did the RIGHT thing! A similar thing happened to me last summer,there was a little pomeranian cooped up in a car with the windows only slightly down,it was 35 celsius outside,so you could almost triple the temp. in the car,the car was parked by a huge shopping centre,so i didnt even bother to try and look for the owners,just as i was about to smash the window i heard an OY! and there were the owners coming up from behind,well an argument ensued about their abuse on that poor little doggy and they drove off(ignorant owners didnt want to listen),now, i wish i was 5 minutes earlier,i would have rescued the dog and took her home,an owner who locks their dog in a car on a blistering hot summer day,deserves everything they get,including a smashed window ;) The point is if i see a dog locked in a car on a hot summer day then i would not hesitate in smashing the window and rescuing it! Our australian r.s.p.c.a does alot of advertisements about leaving dogs in cars,summer or winter,i cant remember the figures but an exhorbarant amount of dogs die each year here in Australia by dehydrating or by heatstroke by being left in cars,our summers can reach up to 45 celsius :(
No dog deserves to die such a hideous death,i would rather have a little glitch in my record than knowing i let an innocent dog possibly die!

christine(adelaide,australia)

I know the law some times isn't right, its like if someone is breaking into your home and falls and breakes  their leg...You know they can sew you...Isn't that Mad!!!!!!

Hi I just wanted to say 'well done you.'I have a two yr old Newfie and they suffer the heat dreadfully.The ignorant pigs should be glad they are not the ones facing the charges.If that dog had died they would have been charged with animal cruelty.
Did the police not try reason with them at all?Could you not appeal to them and say well at least you had the dogs wellfare at heart.
Maybe when they calm downand realise that you were not trying to steal their car/dog they will behave like rational adults.
No harm  was done and that's what is important

best wishes
Brenda

hello im debs, i was the lady that saved the dog.
Just to say thanks for the support, the dog is doing ok, he was in a very bad way, but is improving. 
On the day the owners were very angry, but i gave them my number and arranged to sort it out yesterday.
The police said that if the owners wanted to i could face charges, but thankfully i explained why i did it, and the owners understand, and they didnt realise the dangers of dogs in cars.
They are not pressing charges.

I Dont normally break into cars, but i wasnt going to watch this dog be cooked alive, so again thanks for everyones help and support, the dog "bear" is going to be fine, and looks like the owners are fine about it, well not fine about their car window, but they have insurence, the dog couldnt have been replaced....

Debs

Glad to hear they're not pressing charges against you Debs.  You did the right thing and shouldn't face criminal charges for saving a dogs life.  Well done.

I hope the owners have learnt their lesson and will be more thoughtful about leaving Bear in future.

well done.I'd have done exactly the same thing, or else i wouldn't have been able to sleep at night!!.)

That was running through my head, if i walked away then he died, just because i was risking a charge, in my mind dogs are the most important thing to me, i couldnt of lived with myself if i would of left him!