PENSACOLA, Fla. (WSVN) — A police officer came to the rescue of a puppy that was locked in a hot car at a shopping mall in Pensacola.
Body camera footage shows Pensacola Police Officer Anthony Giorgio breaking into the car to rescue the canine.
It was 94 degrees out, meaning there was a chance that it was at least 150 degrees inside the sedan. The puppy was hiding but its cries could be heard by Giorgio and shoppers. “It’s a puppy, and I can’t see it, but it’s crying and appears to be in distress,” Giorgio said.
Giorgio described his thought process. “I’m putting my hands in the window, I get on the radio and call my sergeant, and he tells me to get in it,” he said.
The officer followed orders and smashed the window. The glass missed the puppy that was hiding under the passenger seat. Upon removing the puppy from the car, he was immediately given water. Giorgio placed the dog in his air-conditioned cruiser to cool off.
The canine was returned to its owners. They were issued a $150 fine for animal cruelty. “The dog was returned to them because it was such a young puppy that we just wanted to make sure it got back with its mother where it would be OK,” Giorgio said.
If the dog had died in the car, the owners would have faced criminal charges instead of a civil penalty. Giorgio is relieved that it didn’t come to that. “I have a couple of dogs at home,” he said. “I do; I do love dogs.”
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