Concerned Burnaby resident acts quickly after seeing dog in hot car

VANCOUVER – Brian Browne was heading into Costco on Thursday to pick up a few items when he noticed a black MINI with pink trim in the parking lot.

When he went closer he realized there was a small dog in the car.

“It was a Yorkie,” he said. “It was snapping aggressively.” He said the sunroof was open on an angle and the windows were cracked about a quarter inch.

Browne went into Costco, grabbed a few items and mentioned what he had seen to the manager.

He said staff at Costco did not help him find the owner and did not have a working PA system to page the owner.

“I said I’m trying to get a dog rescued out here,” said Browne.

He called 9-1-1 and within minutes the fire department from Fire Hall 6 arrived on scene. “The captain spoke to me, he said ‘let’s keep an eye on the dog here, I’ve got my team here ready to go’,” said Browne.

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Meanwhile, he went back into Costco and walked up and down the aisles, asking people if they had a black MINI with pink trim. He came across a young couple at the checkout and they said the car was theirs. “They told me the dog was fine, and I said ‘your dog’s not fine!’. I was pretty upset,” said Browne.

It was cloudy when he first noticed the dog but by now the sun was shining through.

The woman sent her boyfriend out to the car to open the door for the dog while she finished paying. Browne said the firemen grilled him about what had happened and told him to leave the dog at home in future.

The firefighters left after the dog was found to be OK and Browne said he would like to commend them for their actions. “Fire Hall number six was awesome,” he said. “All those guys really sincerely cared for that dog’s well-being.”

RCMP say if people see a pet in a hot car there are a number of steps to take before calling the police or animal control:

• Is the car parked in the sun or shade?
• Are the windows down and does the animal have air flow?
• How long have you observed the animal?
• Does it have any water?
• Have  you gone into nearby stores and tried to locate the owner/driver?
• What is the dog doing- panting, laying down, barking?

If you observe an animal panting, shaking uncontrollably, acting lethargic and appearing to be uncoordinated, then this may be a critical situation requiring police or animal control. Police say if a vehicle needs to be broken into and animal control has been called, they will contact a local tow company to open a locked door. Police officers if warranted, can break a window and remove the animal, but this will always be a last resort and only done to save the life of the animal.

Browne agreed, saying the best thing to do is call the authorities. “The fire department will get there,” he said. “Let the professionals do their job, they will react to it.”