The temps are FINALLY heating up, the snow is FINALLY melting, and I'm FINALLY training for my first 5k*!

Unfortunately, we'll start seeing pets left in vehicles while their dumb owners run into the store "for just a sec."

Something to remember: the temp inside the car will be higher than the temp outside the car. Cracking a window won't help that much. PLEASE make gooder arrangements so your pet isn't left inside an oven on wheels.

When we see such a thing, we're tempted to Go Hero and free that pup from his burning prison...i.e. breaking a window. But is that legal? In Minnesota, NO.

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It is very illegal in Minnesota to break a car window if you think a pet is in danger. It's only legal for a public official (police, firefighter, etc) to break into a car to rescue an animal. Does that suck? Yes. But thems be the law.

Our neighbor to the east - Wisconsin - does have a "Good Samaritan" law that gives legal protection to someone breaking into a car to save an animal.

So what can Minnesotans do? Call 911. If you see someone leaving their pet in a car, be That Guy/Girl. Tell them that what they're doing is dangerous, and you just might call the po po.

Read more about what you can & can't do in these situations from the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

*: total lie


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