When it came to rescuing a dog locked in a car on a sweltering day, one man in Canada decided to take whatever means were necessary to pull the pooch to safety.
An unidentified man was captured on video hurling a large rock repeatedly until he smashed the back window on the driver's side of a BMW in order to remove the suffering dog in the parking lot of a festival in Ontario.
The dog was soaking wet as the man pulled him to safety on a day when temperatures were more than 90 degrees.
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Kitchener resident Wilson Costa, who shot a video of the scene and posted it on Facebook, told TODAY the owners had been absent for about 50 minutes despite an announcement asking them to return to the parking lot to get their dog at a festival in Grand Bend on June 11.
"The dog seemed to be panicking,'' Costa said. "It was pacing back and forth.
"People were offering advice on ways to break the window. A rock at the time seemed to be the quickest solution."
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The unidentified man took it one step further than NBC anchor Kyle Clark, who highlighted the dangers of dogs being left in hot cars two days earlier. Clark considered breaking a stranger's window to rescue a suffering dog in Denver and later confronted the owner.
No one objected to breaking the window, according to Costa, who owns a Pomeranian.
"My dog gets hot quickly outside with all her fur, so I could imagine what the other dog was feeling inside the car,'' he said. "I was concerned that the dog could have health issues or even die if any more time had passed."
The owners and the police later arrived at about the same time another 50 minutes later, Costa said. The Ontario Provincial Police are conducting an ongoing investigation with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Huron County Human Society, OPP Constable Christopher Doupe told TODAY.
The investigation has not yet determined how long the dog was in the car until it was rescued. Any potential charges or penalties for the owners would not come until the conclusion of the investigation.
Section 445 of the Criminal Code of Canada provides that "anyone who willfully and unlawfully causes pain or suffering to an animal can face a maximum $10,000 fine or imprisonment from 1.5 to 5 years,'' according to Doupe.
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The owners did not file any formal complaint against the man who broke the window, Doupe said. The investigation will determine whether that man will face any type of penalty.
Doupe also offered advice to others facing a similar situation where they see a dog suffering in a hot car.
"The OPP recommends that people monitor the animal, contact police, animal control or a by-law officer,'' Doupe said. "The police can request a tow service to unlock and access the interior of a vehicle. If possible and circumstances permit, let animal control and or law enforcement shoulder the responsibility of damage to someone's property in order to prevent an offense."
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