Dog owners are being warned the heatwave could kill pets after Notts Police had to smash their way into a locked car to rescue a terrier.
The dog, called Gizmo, was spotted in the Duke Street car park in Bulwell on Monday morning by a passerby.
They alerted police, who smashed a window to free him when they could not immediately contact the owner.
Gizmo was quickly reunited with his owner after being given a drink and a place to cool down, but officers and the RSPCA says the incident shows how the current heatwave could prove fatal for pets.
A Notts Police spokesman said: “The owner of the car has been located and been given strong words of advice on the dangers of keeping dogs in cars on hot days.
“Please do not leave dogs in cars – even for a few minutes – as temperatures inside vehicles can rise rapidly, which can make dogs very distressed.
“When the weather is warm owners should always ensure that pets have plenty of cool, fresh drinking water available to them.”
The RSCPA said its national 24-hour emergeny line had 106 erports of dogs left in hot environments across Saturday and Sunday.
The influx of calls prompted the charity to re-issue its appeal to owners to never leave animals unattended in cars in warm weather.
RSCPA Inspector Justin Stubbs said: “Myself and my fellow inspectors at the RSPCA are used to dealing with all aspects of animal cruelty but to witness a dead dog in a hot car is particularly harrowing.
“When you go home at night, it is hard to put out of your mind that they would have slowly stifled to death, gasping for air. When a dog is left in a car for a prolonged period of time their skin blisters and they suffocate. It’s hard to think of anything worse.
“So any dog owners out there this summer, I would ask please never leave your dog in the car, there is really no excuse.”
Notts Police offers specific advice on what someone should do if they find a dog trapped in a car, saying passers-by could be justified in breaking into someone else’s vehicle in some circumstances.
The RSPCA also says smashing a window could be excused if a dog is genuinely at risk, but advises contacting police initially.
