Las Vegas police have released bodycam video of officers rescuing a dog and her puppy trapped inside a sweltering car in a parking garage, as temperatures soared into the triple digits.
“Brace yourself for the best story of the day,” police captain Dori Koren had tweeted on the day of the rescue. “[O]fficers rescued these two pups from a locked car this morning. They were left with no food or water in a 115 degree heat. Thankfully we got to them in time.”
Koren later posted that the dogs had been left in the car for about four hours.
Las Vegas police posted the video to its YouTube channel on July 12. It shows officers approaching the car and determining where the dogs are before breaking the front passenger-side window in order to open the door. As soon as the officer broke the window, in the moment before the car alarm goes off, a dog can be heard panting heavily. Only the back window and sunroof were cracked open.
One officer pulls the puppy out first, and another coaxes the mother out second.
“Come on mama,” the officer can be heard saying, urging the dog to come out. “Can you stand up for me? There you go … Come on, let’s get you with your baby.” As the officer brings the dog to an air-conditioned patrol car, the dog is still panting heavily, and is unable to jump into the car on her own.
“This started as a call for service,” the Las Vegas police YouTube post said. “Roaming security at a parking garage in Las Vegas noticed a mother dog and puppy in the back of a vehicle in distress. Officers arrived and broke out the window.”
“Do not leave pets in the heat,” the police added. “We are continuing to investigate this[.]”
Las Vegas police officers have saved three dogs locked inside hot cars in as many days.
On July 11, Koren tweeted about another dog rescue, this time of a small dog that was in the car for more than five hours.
On July 10, Las Vegas police were called to a Goodwill parking lot, where a dog inside a car was in distress. According to local station KTVZ NewsChannel21, officers were forced to break the window to get the dog out. The owner, who was reportedly inside Goodwill shopping at the time of the rescue, was arrested, according to KTVZ.
Las Vegas temperatures have reached record highs in recent days. On July 10, the city matched its highest temperature ever, 117 degrees, as much of the Southwest faced excessive heat warnings.
A Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department spokesman told Law&Crime that pet owners who leave their dogs in hot cars may face different penalties depending on the outcome.
“If someone leaves an animal inside a vehicle, and the animal doesn’t suffer any injuries or major medical incidents, then they are cited for vehicle confinement,” Officer Aden OcampoGomez said. “However, if the animal suffers injuries, needs major medical assistance, or dies, at that point, the person is arrested,” and could be charged under Nevada law prohibiting animal torture, which could result in a sentence of one to four years in prison.
[Video via Las Vegas Metropolitan Police]