Bystanders are no longer giving vehicle owners the benefit of the doubt when it comes to animals in autos.
On Wednesday, two bystanders reported hearing yelping and crying in a parked vehicle at Willowbrook Shopping Centre around midday.
A heat warning is in effect for the Lower Mainland.
The Langley Animal Protection Society had received a report of a person putting a small dog in the back of the vehicle.
The RCMP and the Langley Animal Protection Society were on scene after lunchtime, waiting for the driver to return to the vehicle. LAPS manager Jayne Nelson said several pages were made in the mall to locate the owner but no one returned to the vehicle.
The RCMP made the decision to break a window.
The good news is that no living animal was found in an overheated vehicle. Nelson said it was a stuffed animal.
“Better safe than sorry,” she said.
LAPS is responsible for investigating animal in distress incidents and would decide whether the owner will face any consequences.
