Summerside Police Department Nets PETA Award for Saving Dog From Hot Truck

Officers Free Canine Left to Languish in Soaring Temperatures

For Immediate Release:
August 6, 2015

Contact:
Lakisha Ridley 202-483-7382

Courtesy of PETA, a Compassionate Police Department Award is on its way to the Summerside Police Department for its quick rescue of a dog left in a hot truck outside a store on Granville Street. Although the window was partially rolled down, the dog was visibly in distress as temperatures climbed inside the vehicle, so officers broke the window to free the dog, offering water and shade. After being removed from the heat and given water, the dog appeared to recover.

“Any vehicle can quickly become a death trap for an animal in warm weather, and it’s thanks to these officers that this dog is happy and healthy today,” says PETA Senior Director Colleen O’Brien. “PETA hopes this story will inspire others to act immediately to spare more animals a painful, preventable death.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—joins the Summerside Police Department in reminding all dog guardians never to leave any animal inside a parked car. On a 25-degree day, the temperature inside a parked car can soar to between 37 degrees and 49 degrees in just minutes, and on a 32-degree day, the interior temperature can reach as high as 71 degrees in less than 10 minutes.

For its lifesaving action, the Summerside Police Department—which reportedly rescued several dogs from hot cars throughout the weekend—will receive a framed certificate and a box of delicious vegan cookies.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.