State Senator Proposes Legislation to Allow People to Rescue Dog Trapped in Hot Vehicle

One Georgia lawmaker is trying to push through an amendment to a current bill that would make it legal for people to break into a vehicle if they see a pet is locked in a hot car.

According to a report in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Republican Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick of Marietta is on a special Senate committee studying whether laws are needed to regulate support service animals.

Kirkpatrick herself uses a service dog.

She is proposing adding wording to an existing law passed in 2015 that protects children left in hot cars by allowing people to break a window to get the child out.

With summer not far away, pet owners need to be aware of the dangers of leaving your dog in the car, according to Toccoa-Stephens County Humane Shelter Director Jeff Roberts.

Roberts says parking in the shade or leaving the car window cracked open doesn’t help the animal.

“Even though it seems to be shady, that doesn’t make it cooler, Roberts said. “And people are also under the mistaken idea that if you crack the vehicle windows, that makes it better; but it doesn’t. Studies show that it really does not make the interior of the vehicle that much cooler.”

Roberts said in hot weather, it’s best to leave your dog home unless they come inside with you.

Or he said if you have a spare key, lock your car and leave it running with the air conditioning on if you’re only going to be gone a short time.

And if you do see a dog in a hot car and it appears to be in distress, you should call 911.

“I encourage people to call 911 and ask for animal control and an officer,” he said. “You never know who might be the closest and quite frankly, you really want law enforcement out there in case the owner comes out and is not a happy camper,” Roberts said.

In her legislation, anyone who breaks a window to rescue an animal in distress must also call 911 to be immune from civil liability.

Kirkpatrick told the AJC that would mitigate the possibility of someone just kidnapping an animal or breaking a window and later claiming it was to save an animal.