Two trapped dogs are rescued, but the owner's reaction is shocking millions on TikTok
Palm Bay, Florida - Truly cruel! A pet owner left her dogs in an overheating car, and when some good Samaritans stepped in, her reaction was the opposite of what one might expect.
Despite extremely high temperatures, a Florida woman left her two dogs locked in a hot car in a Palm Bay parking lot on Sunday.
TikTok user Kay filmed the event on her phone, and later posted it as a series of videos to her TikTok account. The story immediately went viral and gained over 6.4 million views in just one day!
In the first of three clips, Kay said that she was shopping with friends when the group noticed two dogs trapped in the back of a car in the shopping mall's parking lot.
The beagle and dachshund were barking and panting from the hot sun beating down on the car, which had no open windows.
As the dachshund began to lay down and become more lethargic in the car's backseat, it became a life-threatening situation: the four-legged friends were in danger of dying from heat stroke!
The group and other nearby shoppers grew concerned after no one came to the car for over 20 minutes, and decided to call the police.
While the officers arrived, Kay bought dog bowls, a leash, and water from a store, so the suffering animals could have something to drink.
The officers first tried to locate the owners of the car. But with time running out, they decided to break the car's window to free the trapped dogs!
The owner is outraged – over her broken window!
In the second video clip, the dogs can be seen running out of the car after their rescue and racing to get a drink of water.
The pups gained lots of attention from shoppers in the parking lot – but there was still no sign of their owner!
After an hour, the owner of the car showed up, but instead of being concerned about the dogs' welfare, she was upset about the car's broken window!
She began to argue with the police officers and did not thank the Good Samaritans.
Kay and her friends were stunned. In follow-up videos, Kay explained that the woman said the dogs and car belonged to one of her family members, and did not think she was in the wrong.
As a penalty, the woman had to pay a $400 fine for endangering each dog. She faced no further punishment, as this was her first offense.
Like Kay, thousands of TikTok users were enraged by the lady's reckless behavior and expressed hope that the animals would never be put through such cruel treatment again.
Commenters also applauded the 22-year-old for her heroic act to save the dog's lives.
Kay said she just hoped to spread awareness about pet negligence and stepping in when witnessing animal abuse.
Cover photo: Collage: Screenshot/TikTok/midnightheartsuke