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Ex-policeman smashes window to rescue distressed dog from hot car
Al Moore. Picture: supplied by Al Moore - Credit: Archant
An ex-policeman has been praised on social media for smashing a car window to rescue a hot and distressed dog from inside.
The RSPCA's Dogs Die In Hot Cars campaign from 2018. Picture: Andrew Forsyth/RSPCA - Credit: Archant
Al Moore was concerned the pet had been in the vehicle in baking heat for more than an hour, and could die of heatstroke.
Dozens of people on social media have congratulated him on his actions at Millers Walk car park in Fakenham on Monday morning, July 29, and said 'Well done'.
MORE: Is it illegal to leave a dog in a hot car?
He said: "It was about 11am. I'm a paramedic with NARS (Norfolk Accident Rescue Service) and we were attending someone nearby. We heard the dog barking. I called the police beforehand. But I know they are stretched, so I broke the car window. I was a copper for 30 years, and I was doing the right thing."
File photo of a Hungarian Wire-haired Vizsla panting in a car with the window open in 2018. Picture: Andrew Forsyth/RSPCA - Credit: Archant
He said the car's back window was only open about an inch, which was not sufficient, and added: "Putting my fingers inside I could feel how hot it was. Another person was also concerned and gave me a wheelbrace to smash the window.
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"We then doused the dog with a couple of buckets of water from a butcher's. If it's 22C outside, inside the car will be double that."
Mr Moore, from Sculthorpe, said that, when the owner of the car returned, they tried to make excuses for leaving the dog.
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He added: "They were on holiday from Derbyshire. If they were going to take me to task, we would have won, anyway."
A Norfolk police spokesman confirmed their attendance, and said: "The dog had been taken out of the car by a member of the public. The owner was given advice, when they returned, on not leaving dogs in hot cars."
The RSPCA's website says that while there is not a law against leaving a pet unattended in a hot vehicle, if the animal dies, the owner could be charged with animal cruelty.
In cases where breaking into the car seems absolutely necessary, the RSPCA advises people to tell the police what they intend to do and why, and to find witnesses to the incident. However, the law states that it could be classed as criminal damage.
