A Virginia Army veteran took matters into his own hands when he saw a poor puppy trapped inside a hot car on Tuesday.
Police told Jason Minson he could be charged if he broke the car’s window. But when animal control struggled to pry the door open, he didn’t want to take any chances.
‘F**k it, charge me with a f*****g crime,’ he exclaims in one video clip the shows his rescue, breaking the window open to free the black Labrador puppy.
Virginia Army veteran Jason Minson (right) took matters into his own hands when he saw a poor black Labrador puppy trapped in a hot car on Tuesday
Minson, who runs a landscaping business, was inspecting a tree in a yard of a Norfolk home on Tuesday when he heard a bang on the street.
He checked to see what had caused the noise, and saw that a car had bumped another vehicle parked on the street.
When Minson went to inspect the parked car, he realized that a puppy was inside.
Minson believes the noise from the crash woke up the puppy, who was desperately panting.
‘It was the kind of panting that was the last effort a dog does to try to cool himself off,’ Minson, who has a Great Dane, told The Dodo.
He immediately called 911 and authorities warned Minson that he could be charged in Norfolk if he broke the car’s window.
Minson went to check on the parked car when it got hit by another car on the street. That’s when he saw the puppy inside, desperately panting
At first Minson listened to their orders and kept watch over the poor pup as he waited for animal control.
‘Hang in there, we got police on the way,’ he can be heard telling the puppy in one of the videos he later posted on his Facebook.
‘It’s summertime people, take care of your dogs, don’t leave them in vehicles,’ he says in the first clip as he turns the camera on himself.
‘This dog is about to die and, according to Norfolk, you can’t bust out a window to save a dog’s life – it’s kind of ridiculous.’
He then shows us the puppy again as he furiously pants between the hot leather seats.
Minson fed the puppy water from a bottle he fit through the tiny crack in the window. The puppy was so thirsty he finished two full bottles of water
In another video, we see the puppy desperately drinking from a bottle of water that Minson and another woman feed him through a crack in the window.
The poor pup then went to law down on the floor of the backseat to try and escape the burning heat
They reveal that it is the second full bottle of water that the puppy has finished.
The poor pup then goes to lay down on the floor of the backseat.
‘He’s trying to get as low as he possibly can in the car to get out of the heat,’ Minson explains.
An animal control officer then arrived on the scene and unsuccessfully tried to pry the door open.
By then, 20 minutes had passed since Minson had first found the puppy.
‘The dog had laid back down on the floor of the car and wasn’t panting as quickly,’ he said. ‘I honestly didn’t think this pup was going to make it.’
‘I’m usually a pretty cool, level-headed person but I was kind of fed up.’
In the third clip he posted to Facebook, we can hear Minson breaking the window with the animal control officer’s baton.
An animal control officer then arrived on the scene and unsuccessfully tried to pry the door open. By then 20 minutes had passed since Minson had first found the puppy, so he decided to take the risk of charges and break the window
The day after his heroic rescue, Minson went to visit the pup, who is now safely recovering
‘They can charge me with whatever, I don’t give a s**t at this point,’ he says. ‘F**k those people.’
Minson then opens the car door and the animal control officer rushes in to grab the puppy and take him to a veterinarian hospital for urgent care.
The day after his heroic rescue, Minson went to visit the pup, who is now safely recovering.
Minson has since posted about the incident on Facebook in hopes it will teach people to take better care of their pets.
‘This is real talk people,’ he wrote. ‘It’s hot out and if you leave an animal in your car, it’s going to die from the heat.’
The owner of the puppy has since been charged. Authorities are not pressing charges against Minson (pictured with his Great Dane), who will be a witness at the owner’s hearing
Minson has since posted about the incident on Facebook in hopes it will teach people to take better care of their pets
‘In Virginia you will get charged with two felonies. If you do it and I see it, you’re going to get your window busted AND two felonies.’
‘The officers in Norfolk were doing their jobs correctly and were trying to get the dog without causing property damage and were about to call the fire department for assistance, but I honestly didn’t think this pup was going to make it and my job wasn’t on the line because of policy.’
‘Take care of your fur babies!’ he added.
The owner of the puppy has since been charged. Authorities are not pressing charges against Minson, who will be a witness at the owner’s hearing.