A bill that would provide immunity to good Samaritans who break a car window to rescue animals from the Georgia heat is working its way through the General Assembly.
Legislation filed by state Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, R-east Cobb, would allow someone to damage property in an effort to save an animal from a hot car if the rescuer calls 911 and remains at the scene until first responders arrive.
“It basically extends the protections we gave someone who rescues a toddler from a hot car,” Kirkpatrick said. “It gives the person immunity if they’re being a good Samaritan.”
The idea for Senate Bill 32 was one of the recommendations recently made by a Senate Study Committee tasked with researching service animals and discussing whether legislation was necessary to keep some from abusing laws by bringing “fake service animals” everywhere they go. Kirkpatrick was one of five state senators on the committee.
The American Veterinary Medical Association estimates hundreds of pets die in parked vehicles each year from heat exhaustion, and several states already have “good Samaritan” laws on the books aimed at protecting animals from hot cars.
The AVMA says temperatures inside a vehicle can rise nearly 20 degrees in 10 minutes, and more than 40 degrees in an hour, even on a 70-degree day.
The Humane Society of the United States warns that cracking or rolling down a car’s windows has little effect on its inside temperature.
While Kirkpatrick’s bill doesn’t mention specific temperature thresholds, she said people should be able to use reasonable judgment to determine whether an animal is in distress.
“If somebody runs into Walgreens for five minutes and it’s 50 degrees outside, I don’t think any reasonable person would break their window,” she said. “But people don’t realize how hot it gets in a car in the summer in Georgia.”
Cobb Police Chief Mike Register said breaking a stranger’s window to get to their dog should probably be a last resort.
“The best thing would be to call the police, especially here in Cobb County because all the jurisdictions have quick response times, and let us deal with it,” Register said. “I would hate for a situation to escalate if someone came out and a citizen was damaging their car.”
Animal rights groups also suggest walking into the nearby store and having an employee make an announcement over the intercom system.
Kirkpatrick’s bill has been assigned to the Senate Special Judiciary committee chaired by state Sen. Jen Jordan, D-Atlanta. She said she has requested a hearing but hasn’t heard when it will be.