A man who left his dog to swelter and die in a car told a group of concerned onlookers his actions were ‘fine’.
The Perth man, seen in video from the RSPCA, told onlookers: ‘it’s not a hot day’, even though the temperature was close to 30 degrees.
‘I don’t bring them out in the summer, in the heat – this is fine,’ he said.
The man had allegedly left his dog, a Bull Mastiff, in the packed Holden Astra for about two hours before he was seen by passers-by.
A Bull Mastiff was found by concerned locals sweltering in a Holden Astra in Perth on Wednesday
Local Amy Middleton, who stopped to help the dog out of the car, posted about the incident on Facebook.
Ms Middleton said a group of people came together after noticing the animal locked in the small car with a chain around its neck.
Ms Middleton said the car doors were unlocked, meaning they were able to remove the dog from the car.
She said the dog was carried to a nearby shady area by a man while a vet nurse, who drove by the incident, pulled over to attempt CPR on the animal.
‘It just wasn’t enough, we lost him and everyone there at that moment was beyond sorry to that animal,’ Ms Middleton wrote.
‘We were all utterly heartbroken and angry that anyone could do this!’
Pictured: A Perth man told concerned onlookers the day was ‘fine’ for leaving his dog locked in his car, even though the pup had just died of heat injuries
A spokesperson for the RSPCA said while the sky was cloudy on Wednesday, the temperature was warm, and it takes just minutes for dogs to die in hot cars.
‘The temperature inside a parked car can quickly rise to double the outside temperature, meaning temperatures inside parked cars yesterday could have exceeded 50 degrees Celsius,’ they said.
‘A dog can suffer heat stress and die in as little as six minutes.
‘Parking in the shade or underground, leaving windows down, or leaving water in the car offers little to no relief.’
Ms Middleton said the owner of the dog had returned shortly after the pup’s passing and ‘lied and blamed everything around him instead of stepping up and taking responsibility of an irresponsible, absolutely disgusting decision he made all by himself’.
The Facebook page for Perth Pets in Need said the dog suffered ‘two seizures and threw up, before he died a slow painful death’.
‘Like all dogs who get heatstroke, he suffered horrendously,’ they said.
‘Rest easy big boy, you didn’t deserve this and I hope you know how much that group of strangers loved you for that short time and will care for a life time,’ Ms Middleton wrote.
The dog was locked in the car, believed to be packed full of items, with all the windows up during the warm day