Good Samaritan Who Broke Car Window to Save Dog’s Life to Receive PETA Award

Compassionate Action Award for Rescuer Who Was Arrested for Kind Effort to Spare Distressed Dog Further Suffering, Death From Heatstroke

For Immediate Release:
May 13, 2015

Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382

After finding a small dog locked inside a rapidly heating car at a shopping center, Army veteran Michael Hammons wasted no time in saving the little guy. He broke the car’s window to free the dog, likely sparing the animal a miserable death—as dogs can sustain brain damage or even die from heatstroke in just 15 minutes. Though Hammons has since been arrested for criminal trespassing at the insistence of the dog’s owner, PETA is honoring his swift action with a Compassionate Action Award. “They make new glass every day, but they could never replace that dog,” Hammons told news sources.

“Every summer, PETA receives dozens of calls about dogs left in hot cars for whom help came too late to save their lives,” says PETA Senior Director Colleen O’Brien. “Rather than being arrested, this man should be applauded for acting in the best interests of the victim instead of standing idly by.”

PETA, whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way,” reminds all dog guardians never to leave any animal inside a parked car. On a 78-degree day, the temperature inside a parked car can soar to between 100 and 120 degrees in just minutes, and on a 90-degree day, the interior temperature can reach as high as 160 degrees in less than 10 minutes.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.