An angry shopper confronted a dog owner who reportedly left his pet in a car on the hottest day of the year.
The Met Office officially declared Thursday, June 25, as the hottest day of the year so far, as temperatures skyrocketed.
The incident happened at Bidston Retail Park, Merseyside, according to a woman who said she was among those questioning him, the Liverpool Echo reports.
The woman, who asked not to be named, claims she spotted the dog while she was walking towards the shops and questioned the owner about his decision to leave his pet in the heat. She says he returned to his vehicle and drove off "in a huff".
She said: "The man locked his car with the dog left inside and he began walking towards the shops when I stopped him. I approached him and said something along the lines of 'excuse me, are you leaving your dog in a hot car?'."
"He said he would only be five minutes but I told him that even that wasn't OK. It was the hottest day of the year. I used to volunteer for the RSPCA so I told him that if he did leave the dog inside the car his windows could be smashed and I would call the police.
"He just got back in his car in a huff and sped off. My mum even offered to hold his dog for him if he was only popping into the shop."
This is not the first incident of a dog being left in a car to occur in the recent hot weather. A dog owner in Southport was spoken to by police after they received a concerned report from a member of the public about a dog being left in a car on Eastbank Street.
The RSPCA strongly advises against leaving dogs in vehicles on hot days and it can be lawful for members of the public to smash a window to free pets in such circumstances.
