Dog left in car for 7 hours. Would you break the window even if it’s illegal? (Read scenario first)

We always seem to hear about these stories, and it’s unfortunately happened once again. A local news story surfaced Wednesday about a woman who left her dog in the car at Walmart. Surveillance video shows she arrived at 4 a.m, and the dog wasn’t discovered until 7 hours later, barely breathing. It was about 90 degrees, no shade, and no owner in sight. A large crowd was gathered around the car, with some people recording the incident. When the police arrived, they didn’t rescue the dog immediately. The officers said their policy was to try to locate the owner first. Several announcements were made inside the store over the large Walmart speakers, but the owner still didn’t show up.

After gaining permission from their supervisor, the police officers broke one of the rear windows and pulled the dog out. Onlookers tried to give the dog shade and water, but the dog passed away shortly after.

The owner was found and gave little explanation as to why she was there for 7 hours (she was not a Walmart employee). She said she lost track of time. She wasn’t arrested on scene, but was later charged with a felony.

So the poll question: Consider you were in the above scenario. The dog was still alive, and clearly suffering. The owner could not be located, and everyone was just standing around. Would you try to break the window even if it was illegal?

Additional questions: would you encourage someone else to do it? What other options, if any, would you try?

I feel like I’d try to break the window no matter what, or find someone that could. I don’t care what the laws are, I couldn’t stand to see an animal suffering. Of course I’d try to quickly find the owner, but I wouldn’t waste much time on it.