Police dog rescue a 'smash hit' as owners leave pets in locked-up cars in sweltering heat

Police across the UK found themselves busy smashing windows and rescuing dogs left inside vehicles by their owners in the sweltering heat.

The first incident was reported at Plymouth City Center in Devon on July 24 after shoppers spotted a dog that had been left locked inside a car for the hottest hours of the day between 2 and 4 pm, according to the Daily Mail.

Officers called to the scene broke the window to rescue the pup, which was visibly relieved and ecstatic after he was freed. The Charles Cross Police Team shared the image of the rescue on Twitter with the caption, "He was very happy to be set free!"

The owners of the car, however, were less than pleased when they returned to find smashed glass across the seats. Speaking about the incident, Police Community Support Officer Tracy Cunningham said they were arranging a transporter to remove the car just as the owners arrived. "They weren't happy with us because their window was put in," she said.

She said the family was spoken to via an interpreter over the phone, and it was explained that the matter was quite serious and that the police had the right and powers to free the dog due to the heat and risks to its life.

But they could yet face further punishment. An RSPCA inspector was called to the scene and the dog was taken to a vet for examination before a decision is made on possible animal cruelty prosecution.

In other separate incidents, shoppers at a Sainsbury's in Leeds and a Tesco in Cambridgeshire were also left similarly horrified after they spotted canines left inside the cars.

In the case of the former, police said "the dog was starting to pant/overheat" in the space of less than 10 minutes, and that the owner luckily returned quickly after an announcement was made over the tannoy.

In the latter, a border terrier was spotted "panting and lying down" inside a car by a teen, who rang the police. However, while she was on the phone, the owner reportedly dashed back and drove off.

One such incident in Portsmouth, Hampshire, even escalated into a war of words after a workman saw a dog trapped inside a car in what was the hottest July day on record.

Darren Marsh filmed two women as they returned to the car with the dog inside and called the driver "a piece of s*** for leaving that poor dog."

The woman insists that she had left it inside only for seven minutes and that she had left a window open, arguing, "What leaving it in the hot oven with the f****** window open?"

"The window is not f***** open you f***** idiot." Marsh hit back. Eventually, as the women begin to drive away, someone on the passenger side of Marsh's car can be heard yelling, "Look at the size of you, you fat c***"