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By Alyce Collins
Senior Reporter
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While on an outing to Pomona, California, one woman was horrified to see that a Chihuahua had been locked inside a car on a sweltering summer's day and took matters into her own hands.
When Arlene Hernandez heard the dog whimpering, she waited by the car hoping the owner would return. Unfortunately, there was no sign of them, so she resorted to calling the police as it was 86 degrees Fahrenheit outside, but even hotter inside the car.
Hernandez believes the dog was locked in the car, with the window fractionally open, for around an hour, telling Newsweek that she will "hope and pray [the owner] doesn't do it again, and has learned her lesson."
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She said: "When we got to our destination, I heard a dog crying in the car that was already parked there. I waited and asked people if it was their car for about 20 minutes, but I was there in total for about one hour.
"The police tried as much as they could—they tried to open the window and to unlock the car. They were playing with the door for about 30 minutes, and they called animal control, but they would take another hour."
While some owners love taking their pets with them just about anywhere, there are certain places which don't allow pets, or it's easier for the owner to go alone. In those instances, people sometimes leave their pets in the car and crack a window open to allow ventilation, but the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) insists that isn't enough.
It may be scorching outside, but the AVMA notes that the temperature inside the vehicle can rise by almost 20 degrees Fahrenheit in as little as 10 minutes and continue rising as time goes on. After one hour, the vehicle can be 40 degrees warmer than when it was left, making it extremely uncomfortable for any animal inside.
Leaving the window slightly open won't have enough impact, which is why the AVMA recommends leaving pets at home when possible, rather than risking them getting heatstroke in a car.
According to data collected by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the number of animal rescues and deaths from being left in a hot car for too long is on the rise. In 2022 there were 488 rescues and 57 deaths, but in 2023, those figures are already up to 602 rescues, and 135 deaths.
After Hernandez helped free the Chihuahua from the sweltering car, she eventually returned the dog to its owner, who insisted that she hadn't done anything wrong.
Hernandez told Newsweek: "The dog was thirsty and kind of tired because of how hot and dehydrated he was, but he was fine after we took him out of the car.
"I gave that dog back because the lady was with a little girl, who looked scared, and I didn't want to traumatize her. It was her puppy, and it hurt me to give that dog back knowing she will do it again."
Hernandez shared footage from the rescue on her TikTok account (@lifeofarlene) and it has already been viewed 876,400 times. Many people were thankful that Hernandez stepped in to help the dog, and her rescue efforts have received more than 65,600 likes, and thousands of comments on TikTok.
Explaining why she chose to step in, Hernandez commented on TikTok, saying: "Dogs are my weakness. It broke my heart to hear that dog crying."
Among the many comments, user @juicyalo wrote: "poor lil dog. We need more people like you!"
TikTok user @thezeebabe commented: "Thank you for helping! It makes me so angry that people even do this."
Do you have any pet videos or pictures that you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
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