MACON, GA – A litter of six puppies was thoughtlessly left in a car on a hot summer day recently in Macon, Georgia. They were left there for hours before a good Samaritan found them and called the Macon-Bibb Animal Control Department, according to the Atlanta Humane Society.

By the time the litter was rescued, several of the puppies were unconscious from heat exhaustion, and no one was sure that the pups would make it, the Humane Society reported. "They were panting, dehydrated, and in desperate need of emergency care," said Christina Hill, director of marketing and communications for the Atlanta Humane Society. "Miraculously, every puppy from the litter survived this horrible situation, and they were transferred to the Atlanta Humane Society for continued care and adoption.

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"Now, these puppies are all living in happy, forever homes thanks to the kindness of a stranger," she said. "Let this serve as an important reminder – never, ever leave your pet in your car. Cracked windows are simply insufficient to provide adequate air flow, so when in doubt, leave your pets at home where it's cool and you can save a life."

If you see a dog locked in a hot car what would you do? If you're a dog lover, you probably feel like breaking the window and getting the dog out as quickly as possible. Well, if you live in Georgia, that may not be the best idea from a legal standpoint. "There is currently no Georgia law permitting a person to break someone else's car window to rescue a pet," said Deputy Shannon Volkodav, public information officer for the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office. "A concerned citizen should dial 911 to notify authorities if they locate an animal left in a hot car because responding Gwinnett County law enforcement officers are authorized to take action to save the animal.

"If a citizen believes the animal to be in immediate danger and breaks the window to rescue the animal, the citizen may face legal consequences," she told Patch. "There have been situations, however, where citizens believed that rescuing an animal at risk of serious illness or death in a hot car was well worth the risk. We agree that no animal should bake to death in a hot car. It's a tortuous, painful death which no animal deserves."

Gwinnett County code, for example, says about removing animals locked in vehicles: "A law enforcement officer may use any force necessary to remove any animal locked in a closed vehicle when the ambient temperature is 80 degrees Fahrenheit or above outside the vehicle. If the vehicle is damaged during such removal, the law enforcement officer shall not be liable for any damage to the vehicle." There's no mention of the public taking similar action.

Gwinnett County code establishes that leaving animals in hot cars without proper ventilation to prevent suffering physical distress from heat exhaustion is cruelty to animals. RELATED:

