That's correct. >> You got to give me a channel in a second, buddy. With my pen, it's just not long enough to hit the unlock with my pen. Look at that. We got the unlock our unlock kit. Now you do the unlock kit. >> I did. Right here. >> Okay, then. This one don't >> It is the middle of a Florida afternoon in May, a little after 2:00, and it is above 92° in the sun. Officers have been called to a shopping plaza parking lot for a report of a dog shut inside a parked car. What you just watched is the moment they got the door open. Before we show you how that ended, it is worth understanding what the law actually says about a dog in a hot car because it is not what most people assume, and it changes depending on which state you are standing in. >> I know it's a horse lane. All right. It's my days back in S2. You're skinnier than me. the door handle? Uh potentially. Hang on. >> You got one here you can't get. >> No, I can't get my hand in there. Is Corporal busy? >> Turn it off. >> Yeah, I I got a magic key right here. >> Okay. Oh, yeah. No, oh, yeah. Hang on. Oh, here. Take this. >> I don't want to bust the window if I don't have to. >> Yeah, exactly. Want to open? Come on. Come on. Come on, buddy. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Over here. Come on. Come on, Uber. Come on. Come on. Yeah. Turn the back seat in my car. I'm going to run over you. Yeah, I'm going to turn up the air conditioner in the back. I think she's seriously? >> Yeah. >> Here, I got an idea. Is this your dog? >> Yeah. >> All right, this falls under statute 828.12. The first subsection covers depriving an animal of necessary sustenance or shelter or carrying it in a cruel or inhumane manner. That is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a year and a fine of up to $5,000. There is a second, heavier version of the same statute, a third-degree felony, but that one requires the animal to suffer repeated or extreme harm. Here, the puppy was recovered alive and alert, so the lighter charge is the one that fits. >> I would guess a little. >> Huh? >> Okay. >> I don't know. >> It's cuz you got to have certain criteria for about where you can get a temperature reading inside of the car. But, the dog's ears were hot. She said that she just got done uh walking the dog out. I guess running around. She went in for a little bit and then came out. I think we were here for maybe 5 10 minutes, maybe. Her ears were really hot. She's panting. I know she's a puppy, so >> Is the owner of the puppy here? >> No, we gave her some uh I believe it was the complainant called 911. And I gave us the bottle of water. >> Question everyone asks watching this is whether you could do it yourself. In Florida, the answer is yes, and there is a statute that protects you, 768.139. It shields you from being sued for the damage, but only if you meet four conditions. You have to reasonably believe the animal is in real danger and there is no other way out. You have to call 911 before you go in or immediately after. You can use no more force than necessary, and you have to stay with the animal until help arrives. Miss any one of those and the protection does not apply. >> Here's Officer Horseman. >> Hey, how's it going? >> Hey, what's going on? >> All right, we're out with the I I just seen what y'all want to do. Um we're out with a dog in a car at 5 Below in our city. We got the dog out. Uh the dog was definitely in distress, overheated, stuff like that in the backseat. It's a little puppy. The owner just came out now. Uh my intention is to arrest her. >> Oh, okay. >> So, I was seeing what y'all do with the dog. >> So, if you're going to arrest her and that's like, you know, that's your route, uh she has nobody >> Here's where this stops being a simple story. For a first offense at this level, an officer in Florida has a choice. He can write what is called a notice to appear, which is a criminal citation. You are charged, you are released on the spot, and you answer it in court later. Most people in this situation get exactly that and go home the same afternoon. Listen to what the officer says about why that is not what happens. >> Um, ordinance section, that kind of thing, and there's none of that and then we can come out and grab it. >> Yeah, I I would give her an NTA, but she's on probation, so I can't. >> Yeah. You might just have to go grab the dog. I know all of us are just like three of us are >> Fear my child. >> Turn that entire phone off, right? >> Hey, I'm okay with the 1015. I can't give her no notice to appear cuz she's on probation. >> All right, so I'm allowed to do 1015? Yeah? >> We'll do 1015. Yeah. >> All right. >> That's the case, yeah. >> I'm only because she's on probation, otherwise I'll just issue her a notice to appear. >> Hey, I got you. >> All right, you're fine, bro. >> Yeah, of course. Of course, man. I got you. >> Let's see if we can Let's see if we can get somebody to She can get somebody to come get the dog cuz ACO said they would prefer that. >> Do you have somebody that can come and get the dog? Not even a neighbor? >> No, I don't have any neighbors that can come. >> All right. ACO gets the dog. All right. Turn around. I'm going to arrest you for animal cruelty. >> How is that cruelty? >> You want to sit in that hot car for as long as that dog was? >> are down. I wasn't going to leave >> Yeah, your windows are not down. They're cracked that much. >> Okay, we're going to go outside and let the dog out. >> Okay, now you can get somebody to come. >> You can call after that. Answer and they come. You did. Please stop talking. >> I got you. Can I step aside? Let's see if we can get him in the back. >> This is crazy, bro. >> Everything in the car needs to go with me to the gym. Keys in the car? >> I mean the car. Check this pocket for me. >> This one? >> Yeah. >> Is there anything >> It's like a no trip for It's not in my pocket. It might be in Yeah, it's in the other pocket. Can you grab it? I can't reach it. >> Yeah, I'll take it. I'm going to go Police department. >> Hello. >> Hello. >> I just received a call from >> Yes. >> Car protection is not the same everywhere. And this is where a lot of people get caught out. Some states protect any bystander who steps in. Some protect only law enforcement and animal control. Some have no hot car law at all and fall back on general cruelty statutes. So, a driver who has never had a problem doing this at home can cross a state line and be looking at a criminal charge for the exact same habit. You are about to hear that argument made in those words by the person being arrested. >> No, you have to leave the dog in the car. >> You you can't leave a dog in the Tesla. >> Even with the window down? >> Even with the window down. >> Yes, yeah, I didn't know that >> Even with the Tesla, you can't leave a dog in the Tesla. >> Yeah. >> They have Tesla have a program that all Yeah, there's a law you can leave it. You cannot leave a dog in the Tesla. You cannot leave it a vehicle unattended. >> Are you serious? >> Yes, ma'am. Like if the vehicle is on, it is legal to to leave it unattended. >> You said it is or isn't? >> It is. It is legal. >> So, I would have had to leave the car running and unlocked for somebody to steal it. >> It's still legal. It's not illegal. >> See, that's crazy. That's got to be a here thing cuz where I'm from they don't you know, it's the temperature and you got to have you know, some type of window, air flow, whatever. So, it's definitely different. Yeah. Uh you can leave them there. My mom's supposed to be coming from Belby to come get her. For all I know. Yeah, for all I know of. >> Being on probation removes the officer's discretion, and notice to appear is not available. So, the arrest becomes a booking into the county jail instead of a citation and a court date. And there is a second consequence that matters more than the charge itself. A new offense while on probation is handled separately by the judge who imposed the original sentence, and that judge can put the whole original sentence back on the table. The misdemeanor caps out at a year, the violation does not have a cap of its own. None of this happens without the person who stopped and made the call. She owns six dogs herself, which is why she noticed. What you are watching now is the officer explaining what that decision is going to cost her, and it is more than most people expect. Her name goes in the report. Months from now a subpoena arrives in the mail. She has to show up, and she can only testify to what she saw with her own eyes, not to what anyone told her, which is why the officer asks her to bring the person who actually saw it. >> I was going to see if she needed her uh her pension. Her purse to go with her. The thing is that that's a metal box. It feels hot. You feel the top now? It's really hot now. Okay? You want your purse to go with her or you want to leave the purse in the car? Coming to get the dog? Okay. Watch your leg. All right. Y'all can wait for her mom with the dog. I'm going to go take her. >> All right. What did the ACO say? >> Uh ACO said if you can't get somebody to come get her, they'll come get the dog. >> What did they say about this? >> I wasn't asking them whether I can rescue them or not. >> Yeah, cuz I know there's certain criteria that >> Yeah. And the dog was panting heavily. >> And his ears were on fire. >> Yeah. That's And especially a puppy. >> Yeah. >> They can't cool themselves anyway. >> No. >> All right. I'm going to contact the complainant and see if I can't get a uh >> Yeah, they're requesting a 45 without coming out. >> Yeah. So, I'm going to get their information. >> I'll be there in a couple of minutes. >> 22179 >> All right. How How long before you called was the dog in the car? >> Um it wasn't very long at all that I called. But my grandson said that when we went in the store, he seen the dog in the car. >> And about how long do you think you were in the store? >> I don't know at least 30 minutes. Are you sure though, Eli? No, are you you hadn't seen the dog in there before that? He said he did see the car there when we first got there. >> Okay. >> When we got there, so I don't >> So you were here for a half hour before you called? Um So you you you came here, your your grandson says the the car was here, obviously the dog would have been inside the car. Um when you came out when you came out what brought your attention to the car? >> I heard a noise like a squealing sound. And then I looked over and I seen the dog was in the car. >> Okay. >> And I was like, oh no. I mean, I got six dogs of my own and I'm like, oh my god, it's too hot for that. You know, it's like 92° out. It could be 110 in there. >> Well, it was warmer than that. Was the dog panting or did it look like it was in distress? >> I mean, it looked to be panting, you know. But it didn't look like it was trying or anything. It was just looking at me, panting. >> It was like, please open the door. >> Yeah, I heard it panting. >> Okay. Um I'm Like I said, I'm going to use you as a witness cuz we just we did arrest the person when they came out of the store cuz the we got the dog out of the car. >> Okay. >> So >> know. I said I watched, but I didn't want to be right there because I don't want to open up a confrontation with the person, you know. Sometimes people are crazy, you know what I mean? >> Right. So the amount of time that you were here and then the time that we were here, when she came out we we went ahead and arrested her cuz that is animal cruelty, animal neglect, neglect, whatever you want to call it. Um normally I would just write her a citation for it >> Uh-huh. >> and we would be done with it, but I can't because she's on probation. Because she's on probation I have to book her into the county jail. >> Oh, wow. That's too bad for her. >> Right. But I'm I'm just letting you know why she's actually physically in the back of my police car. >> Okay. >> Like I said, normally we would just issue the criminal citation and you know, let the courts deal with it, but like I said, it's too hot today and it it it it's dangerous for the dog, especially a small puppy like that. >> I I think exactly. Like I said, I got six of my own and I don't leave them outside. When they go out to go to the bathroom, I don't leave them out any longer than 5 minutes because it's just too hot. >> Um so down the road, well 30 days, 45 days, 2 months, whatever it takes for the courts to get around to it, if you start getting subpoenas in the mail, you know what it's for. Please show up cuz you know, we can only testify to the time that we got here as opposed to when you came here, what you saw, and you know, that amount of time also. So cuz you know, your amount of time plus the amount of time that we were here, you know, we're looking at 45 minutes inside that hot car. >> Right. I'm not positive about it being there when I first got there though, other than my grandson saying that he thinks the car was there when he first got there. He knows he thinks he thinks that. I know. I know. >> Okay. Then then if we end up going to court on this, you know, if she wants to fight it, she may because she's on probation. You know, this this this is going to violate her probation. Bring your grandson to court, too. >> Okay. All right. >> Because you can't testify to what he says. He's the only one that can testify to what to what he saw. >> Right. Okay. >> Okay. >> Okay. Thank you. >> You're sure? Okay. Thank you, ma'am. >> Thank you. Bye-bye. >> Okay. Yeah, she said the car was there when she went in. She was inside the store for at least a half hour. >> Two accounts of the same afternoon do not line up, and it is worth being clear about that. The caller believes the car was already there when she arrived, and that she was inside the store for at least half an hour. The owner says she had just exercised the dog and only stepped in briefly. The officers never took a temperature reading inside the car. So, the numbers you hear are estimates, not measurements. Even the caller says she is not certain about when the car got there. A court would weigh all of that, and you can weigh it, too. The puppy was given water at the scene, put in an air-conditioned patrol car, and released to animal control. The charge is one thing. The probation violation behind it is another, and that part is still to be decided. So, here is the question worth sitting with. If you had walked past that car, and you had no idea what the law where you were standing actually said, what would you have done? Tell us in the comments. And if you want to see how these cases turn out, subscribe because we follow them all the way through. >> That's right.