Photo: Rick Bowmer, STF / Associated Press Photo: David Zalubowski, STF / Associated Press

Spurs guard and animal lover Lonnie Walker IV couldn’t wait to shoot a video for the animal rights group PETA, especially after he learned he would share the screen with his beloved mastiff Zola.

“That dog is my best friend,” he said. “We share almost every experience together.”

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals approached Walker to do a spot educating people about the dangers of leaving a dog in a locked car after reading an interview he gave last year with Sports Illustrated before the NBA draft.

In the piece, the former University of Miami star talked about his love of dolphins and his disdain for marine-mammal sea parks, which he likened to prisons.

The story also included information about his dogs, which sparked PETA into action.

“Once we learned he had a dog, we knew he could help save a lot of lives by speaking out about the dangers of leaving them in hot cars, especially since his fan bases in Miami and San Antonio live in some of the hottest parts of the country,” said Moira Colley, PETA’s press outreach manager.

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The video shows Walker locked in an SUV with a window cracked about an inch while a friend and Zola leave him to run an errand at what appears to be a dog friendly establishment. Inside, Zola eyes a cake and plays with a small basketball.

Walker, meanwhile, sits inside the steamy car, where sweat soaks his gray T-shirt. Growing increasingly uncomfortable and fearful, he attempts to release himself from the deathtrap while crying for help.

After 20 minutes, the temperature inside the vehicle soars to 109 degrees and Walker eventually passes out. PETA explains during the video that dogs are at greater risk for suffering heatstroke than humans because they can’t sweat; they only can cool themselves only by panting.

Toward the end of the video, Walker faces the camera outside the car and says: “Every year dogs suffer and die when they are left in parked cars on warm days. Heat strokes can occur quickly, even with the windows partially rolled down. On a 78-degree day, temperatures in a parked car can rapidly increase to 100 degrees. If you see a dog alone in a hot car, take down the car’s information and contact the dog’s guardian or just call the authorities. You can save a life.”

The video was shot in May in San Antonio at the K-9 Café, a spa and boutique for dogs.

“We wanted to come up with something unique for him,” Colley said of Walker. “He is very charismatic, so we tried to highlight his fun personality. We didn’t want a boring talking head video.”

Describing himself as a “huge animal person,” Walker said he had a “wonderful time” shooting the spot despite the sweltering conditions inside the car.

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“I’ve seen more than enough videos of animals, especially dogs, being locked up inside cars,” he said. “It’s good to see a different perspective. You can see how hot it can really get.”

Unlike several states, including Florida, Texas has no specific laws to protect dogs in hot cars. But Texas Monthly reported in 2017 that a 20-year-old man in Manor was charged with cruelty to nonlivestock animals — a Class A misdemeanor with potential penalties of up to a $4,000 in fines and a year in jail — after police discovered an 8-week-old puppy locked in his car in a Walmart parking lot.

“There are 30 states that have laws either criminalizing the practice, explicitly stating that law enforcement can enter (vehicles) in these situations or provides Good Samaritan exemptions from any kind of prosecution, and Texas is not one of those 30 states,” said Laura Donahue Halloran, executive director of the Texas Humane Legislation Network.

Halloran said bills addressing the issue have failed in the past two sessions of the Texas Legislature.

“I can say without hesitation the entire animal welfare community is incredibly concerned, because obviously we are one of those states that almost year-round has some sort of inclement weather,” Halloran said. “A Good Samaritan law, I think, would be really essential in a state like ours that has such extreme weather.”

Walker joins a long list of athletes who have teamed with PETA to do videos, including Tyrann Mathieu, Chris Harris Jr., Alex Morgan, Christen Press, Metta World Peace, Ty Lawson and Candace Parker.

“We were so pleased,” Colley said of Walker’s performance. “Some athletes can get nervous on camera, and that was so not at all the case here.”

Besides running Walker’s video on the internet, Colley said PETA is working to have it aired on television stations in San Antonio, Miami and Reading, Pa., Walker’s hometown.

“We will be pushing it really heavily on social media,” she said. “He also shot a radio (public service announcement) that will be airing in the market very soon.”

Like Walker, Zola got high marks from PETA for her acting.

“His dog was just lovely to work with, so friendly with all our staff,” Colley said.

Walker agreed, saying Zola is the true thespian in the family.

“She a lot cooler than me, I must say,” he said. “I ask for her autograph almost every day now. It was dope to see her around the cameras to see how she acts. She did a wonderful job.”

torsborn@express-news.net