A woman says a fellow supermarket shopper threatened her and her partner in a row over dogs left in a car on a hot day. The couple saw two dogs left in a car in the car park of a branch of Morrisons.
Posting about the incident on the Crimewatch Southport Facebook page, the woman said: "The man threatened to smash my partner's face in". She added that her partner was holding their two-year-old granddaughter at the time, reports The Echo.
The dog owner reportedly also told the couple he was allowed to park in the parent and child spaces at Morrisons because the dogs were his "babies". The man proceeded to abuse the shop's security when the couple reported him.
The full post said: "This idiot left two dogs in the car at Morrisons about half three yesterday and was nice enough to threaten to smash my partner's face in after he told him it's legal to smash a window. My partner was also holding our two-year-old granddaughter.
"Also told us he's spoke to the manager and he's allowed to park in parent and child spaces with his dogs as they are his babies. Management have not told him this at all because we reported him to the security woman and when she spoke to him he gave her abuse too."
Solicitor Matthew Reynolds, who specialises in all aspects of motoring offences, said: “Although smashing a window to rescue a distressed dog in a locked vehicle could lead to a charge of criminal damage, you would have a lawful excuse to smash the window if you believed that the owner of the vehicle would have consented to the damage, had they been aware of the circumstances.
“It would also be a defence to a charge of criminal damage if you smashed the window to protect the owner’s property (the dog) in the belief that the dog was in need of immediate protection and that smashing the window was reasonable in the circumstances to achieve that aim.
“If you do remove a dog from a car, tell the police what you intend to do and why. It would also be a good idea to take photographs or video of the dog and contact details of any witnesses to the incident.”
