Bodycam footage has captured the moment police officers smashed a window of a parked car to pluck a distressed dog to safety from the sweltering temperatures inside.
Officers broke into the vehicle after being alerted to the dog by concerned transport staff who had spotted the little black Shih Tzu barking and panting inside the locked vehicle.
While the car window had been left slightly open, it was feared it was not enough to stop the dog from collapsing as temperatures soared during this week's heatwave.
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The rescue mission unfolded in Nottingham on Monday as warnings were repeatedly posted across news and social media channels, urging dog owners to be vigilant about how rising temperatures could affect their pets.
And police arrived just in time to save one dog's life, smashing the car window before giving the pet water and rushing to a vet, reports Nottinghamshire Live.
While the window was slightly open, officers feared it was not enough to stop the dog from collapsing as the temperature hit 30C in Notts, enough to trigger a temperature of 40C inside the car in just 10 minutes.
The dog is now making a good recovery and the owner has been invited to attend a police interview and the case referred to the RSPCA.
With temperatures set to reach more than 30C in Nottinghamshire and across the UK this week, police reminded dog owners that they should never leave their pets in hot cars - even if the window is slightly open.
PC Jamie Martin said: “Firstly, I would like to thank staff at NET Nottingham Tram for alerting us to incident. Had they not done so, it is unlikely the dog would have survived.
"Many people think it's OK to leave their dog in the car on a warm day providing the windows are open.
"But this incident shows that just simply isn’t the case. Put simply, you should never leave your dog alone in a car on a warm day.
“If a dog became ill or sadly died due to being left in a hot car, owners could be charged with the offence of animal cruelty under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.“This could lead to a prison sentence and/or a fine."
According to the RSPCA, cars can become as hot as an oven, even when the weather doesn't feel that warm. The charity says that when it's 22C outside, the car could reach 47C within an hour.
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