Today, before 9:00 a.m., the Bolesławiec Municipal Guard duty officer received a telephone report from a Bolesławiec resident that a dog had been left in a Ford vehicle on Wybickiego Street. Bolesławiec municipal guards were immediately sent to the scene.
A dog was lying under the rear seat of the car, and the vehicle’s two front windows were open by only about 2 cm. The car was parked in full sun. The temperature was very high. The vehicle’s owner was identified immediately. It turned out that the 30-year-old woman had come with her child to the end-of-school-year ceremony and had left the dog in the car for that time. The woman later explained that she had no one with whom to leave the dog, so she took it with her and left it in the car. The case was referred to the Bolesławiec County Police Headquarters for further proceedings.
Few of us realize that the temperature inside a hot car can reach as high as 50–60°C. It is therefore difficult to imagine what animals left in a hot car may feel. We urge everyone to respond to animals’ suffering. Leaving a dog in a car in high temperatures constitutes animal cruelty, punishable under the Animal Protection Act by up to two years in prison.
Let us also remember that if officers determine that remaining in the car for a longer period threatens the dog’s life, they have the right to use any means necessary to get it out of the vehicle—including breaking a window.