One More State Makes It Legal For Good Samaritans To Save Pets From Hot Cars

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One More State Makes It Legal For Good Samaritans To Save Pets From Hot Cars

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Great news animal lovers! As of July 1, any good Samaritan in the state of Indiana who forcibly enters a vehicle to remove an animal will only be responsible for half the cost of damages to the vehicle.

According to the The Vincennes Sun-Commercial, if there is some reasonable belief that the animal is in imminent danger or suffering serious bodily harm, the person rescuing the pet will be immune from civil or criminal liability from other property damage caused by forcibly entering the vehicle.

Indiana joins the growing list of American states whose laws protect citizens that take drastic action to rescue animals in distress.

However, not all 'hot car' laws are equal and some don't offer immunity to Good Samaritans. Find out what the differences are on the next page.

Indiana's new law is the Good Samaritan version of the "hot car law," that permits ordinary citizens to take action if they believe that an animal is in danger.

On an average summer day, the interior of a car with windows rolled-up can quickly rise to 40 degrees hotter than temperatures outside. Since dogs don't sweat the way humans do, they can very quickly become dehydrated and even die from heat stroke in as little as 15 minutes.

Which is why more and more states are enacting laws that either make it illegal to leave pets unattended in hot cars, and/or legal for vigilant bystanders to break property without penalty to save animals in distress.

There are four types of laws you need to know about:

1. Limited

This means that "hot car laws" only apply to certain kinds of animals. For example:

The states of Colorado, Maryland and Minnesota, only protect dogs and cats are protected under hot car laws.

Indiana, Florida and Wisconsin include "domestic animals," under their hot car laws, while Nevada requires proof that that the imprisoned creature falls under the umbrella of a "domesticated companion animal."

2. Only Law Enforcement

This basically means that only police officers and humane officers are allowed to bust a window to save an animal in distress.

These 20 states enforce this kind of 'hot car law.'

3. Illegal, but not enforceable

This basically means that although it is illegal to leave your pet in a hot car, nobody (not even the police) have the right to intervene if someone does.

New Jersey and West Virginia enforce this law.

4. Good Samaritan

Along with Indiana, the following states excuse the behavior of anyone who witnesses an animal suffering or is in danger of heat stroke/exhaustion/death as a a result of being locked in a hot car.

  • Arizona
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Florida
  • Massachusettes
  • Ohio
  • Oregon
  • Tennessee
  • Vermont
  • Wisconsin

All 11 states require that the Samaritan contact law enforcement before (or sometimes after) the break-in, that there is "reasonable belief" that the animal is in danger, and that they remain after the fact to make sure the animal is safe.

Which state do you live in? Do you agree with their Hot Car and Good Samaritan laws?