The hot temperature Wednesday resulted in a confrontation at an Edmonton parking lot after one woman was concerned when she saw a dog that had been left inside a hot vehicle.
"I'm worried the dog's brain is going to start exploding," said passerby Lynn Devlin, who flagged down a CTV crew after noticing a dog inside the vehicle.
"I'm extremely worried that 20 minutes and counting is going to be affecting its health," she said while standing in the parking lot at 125 St. and 102 Ave.
The Edmonton Humane Society says many owners make the mistake of leaving windows open a crack thinking that will help.
"The temperature inside can rise to almost 30 degrees Celsius in just 10 minutes almost 50 degrees in half an hour. It's shocking how high the temperature can rise," said spokesperson Shawn Randolph.
The Humane Society advises leaving pets at home while owners run errands.
"You wouldn't leave your child in the vehicle to run into the store for a couple of minutes why would you do that to your pet?" said Randolph.
After more than a half an hour, the pet owner returned to the vehicle and was confronted by Devlin, along with firefighters.
"I didn't think I was 40 minutes," said the pet owner.
"You should be criminally charged for animal abuse," Devlin told the worker.
Every week, the Humane Society gets 30 calls a week about pets left in the car during the summer months.
At 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, the society said three complaints had been logged, which includes this case.
With files from Serena Mah
