Video: Guy Accidentally Saves Dog Stuck In Hot Car During Break-In

By Mae Rice in News on Jul 27, 2016 7:31PM



Still from Facebook video

Updated at 4 p.m. after interview with Candace Zynda: A guy broke into an SUV parked outside an Irish pub in West Town on Monday, and in the process likely saved the owner's dog, waiting in the car with the windows rolled up on a day with a high of 87. The owner didn't return to discover his broken window (and living dog) until an hour after he first parked.

The Irish Nobleman Pub (1367 W. Erie St.), the pub the action happened in front of, shared security camera footage of the incident on their Facebook page on Wednesday:

Candace Zynda, 33, who runs the Irish Nobleman with her boyfriend Declan Morgan, told Chicagoist that the car owner's laptop was stolen in the break-in, though police had no report on file about the incident.

Zynda also said that the car's owner spoke with Morgan after the break-in, and only noted the broken window—he hadn't yet noticed that his laptop was gone, apparently. While speaking with Morgan, the car owner also mentioned that he had left his dog in the car for 15 to 20 minutes, which prompted an outraged Zynda and Morgan to look up security footage of the break-in and discover the dog had actually been waitin gin the car for an hour. (Zynda described both herself and Morgan as dog-lovers.)

"I would have done it if I saw it," Zynda said, of breaking the car's window.

Leaving a pet in a parked car is dangerous even on a moderately warm day, according to the American Veterinary Association—especially for a long time. After an hour, the temperature inside a parked car can rise to more than 40 degrees above the outside temperature—so on Monday, the temperature could have risen to 120+ degrees—and cracking windows has little effect. Because parked cars are such heat traps, tons of pets die of heat exhaustion while waiting in cars.

[H/T Reddit]