HAS Lyona senior dog locked in the trunk of his owner's car in the middle of a heatwave was released after 3.5 hours, under the stunned looks of witnesses, including representatives of the police, reported News Lyon.
A video showing the moment the canine was finally out of the vehicle quickly made the rounds on social media.
The events took place on the afternoon of Saturday May 23, 2026 in the underground parking lot of the shopping center Westfield Part-Dieuin the 3rd arrondissement.
Passers-by, security agents and police officers gathered around the parked vehicle waiting for the mistress to return. They were alerted by the dog's distress barking, when the temperature was 30°C that day.
Finally arriving, the mistress asked the police if her dog was “whining”, before opening the trunk and the transport box to free him. Those present couldn’t believe it…
Fortunately, the canine had survived and was standing on its feet. The treatment that had just been reserved for him was all the more scandalous given that he is 11 years old.
“We forgot time”
“ Do you think there's any air in that trunk? » asked a policewoman. To which the person concerned replied that she had not realized how much time had passed. “ You forgot a live animal in the trunk of your car “, the police officer reminded him.
“ This is animal abuse, that, Madam », Underlined his colleague, who noticed that the dog did not even have water at his disposal.
Police did not say whether the dog's owner was punished.
Woopets info: break a window to save an animal locked in a car, what does the law say?
Breaking a window to save an animal can, in certain very specific cases, be justified under the state of necessity, provided for by article 122-7 of the Penal Code. This text provides that a person is not criminally responsible if he or she performs an act necessary to protect property or a person from current or imminent danger, provided that the means used are proportionate to the seriousness of the situation.
In the case of an animal locked in a car in the heat, the situation can be considered a serious and immediate danger, particularly in the event of visible signs of distress (intense panting, apathy, loss of consciousness, etc.) or extreme weather conditions. Animals being recognized as living beings endowed with sensitivity by the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code (article L214-1), their protection can fall within this legal framework.
However, this justification is never automatic. The assessment is always made a posteriori by the judicial authorities, who assess the real and imminent nature of the danger as well as the proportionality of the intervention. In the absence of a clearly established danger or if other solutions existed, damage to the vehicle may remain punishable.
In practice, the priority remains to immediately contact the emergency services in order to involve the police or firefighters, the breakage of a window must remain a solution of last resort in the face of a proven vital risk.