Dog Trapped In Hot Car Saved By Army Veteran Who Smashed Window

A good Samaritan in Virginia rescued a dog trapped inside a hot car by smashing the vehicle’s window, Tuesday.

Jason Minson, an Army veteran, was working in Norfolk when he noticed a black Labrador-mix puppy trapped inside a car parked near the Old Dominion University. He immediately called the emergency services. Worried that the authorities would take a while to reach the spot, Minson stayed with the dog and tried to comfort the animal in any way he could.

In a video of the incident, recorded by Minson, the dog was seen panting inside the car, which had just one window cracked open about an inch. “Hang in there. We got the police on the way,” the man was seen telling the puppy in the clip, obtained by CBS-affiliated WTKR. He was also seen feeding the dog a bottle of water from the narrow opening of the car window.

“The dog was obviously in severe distress, and panting heavily,” Minson told the news station. “We gave it a bottle of water. I called 911, and they said they were going to send animal control out."

With the outside temperature reaching 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26 degrees Celsius) on the particular day and the animal control taking time to arrive, Minson said he could not bring himself to wait any longer. After the dog ended up drinking two whole bottles of water, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He smashed one of the windows of the vehicle to rescue the canine. The noise of shattering glass could be heard in the video.

"I honestly didn’t think the dog would make it long enough for the fire department to get there," he said. Animal control showed up more than 20 minutes later and handed the dog over to an animal shelter. The canine was recovering from the incident.

Norfolk police said their officers were permitted to break car windows to rescue animals when circumstances demanded, adding that Tuesday’s incident qualified as one of those emergency cases.

"Its cruelty leaving a living being in conditions that hot; it's cruel," Minson said. "They depend on us to take care of them like a child would. If you're going to be a dog owner, you have to step up to those responsibilities."

The good Samaritan, who owns a Great Dane service dog named Rex, said he did not regret smashing the car window and that he would do it again if the situation called for it. He also said if his dog was in such a condition, he hoped that others would not hesitate before doing what he did.

"Everyone is always in a rush; rush here, rush there, pick up kids, get groceries and we forget. I don’t know how you could, but some people forget. If I ever got out and went in the store and forgot about Rex, I would pray someone would knock my window out," Minson said.

Charges were pending against the dog owner, who was not identified.