VIDEO: Police Break Truck Window To Rescue Dog Left Inside

LOVELAND, Colo. (CBS4) -- Loveland police smashed the front window of a truck to rescue a dog left inside on a hot summer day. The Larimer Humane Society shared video of the rescue on Twitter. They said the temperature inside the car was 100 degrees.

Someone called the Larimer Humane Society to report the dog in the truck outside the Planet Fitness located at 1453 East Eisenhower Boulevard. Animal protection officials teamed up with the Loveland Police Department to rescue the dog.

The dog is expected to make a full recovery -- but it is now being held in protective custody at Larimer Humane Society and the owner has been cited for animal cruelty.

"Please, never leave your dog in a hot car," officials wrote.

Earlier this month, a dog died after being left in a car in northwestern Colorado on a day when temperatures were in the 80s.

"Dogs can only tolerate higher temperatures for short lengths of time, much shorter than adult humans can tolerate," the Rifle Police Department stated. "A dog's normal temperature is between 101 and 102.5⁰ F. When a dog's temperature reaches 105.8⁰ F, permanent brain damage begins to occur… The critical temperature where multiple organ failure and impending death occurs is around 107 to 109⁰ F."

The Rifle Police Department warned people about some common misconceptions:

• LEAVING THE CAR WINDOWS OPEN does not keep the vehicle from heating up. Research has shown that even with the windows rolled all the way down, the vehicle will reach the same temperature as those with the windows closed.
• PARKING IN THE SHADE helps but is not the solution. A car parked in the shade can still turn into an oven. As the minutes pass and the earth rotates, a vehicle parked in the shade can quickly become parked in full sun.
• LEAVING WATER FOR YOUR DOG may help keep the dog hydrated but will not prevent heat exhaustion. As we discovered above, vehicles heat up too fast and a dog's ability to cool itself just can't keep up.
• LEAVING THE AIR CONDITIONING RUNNING does not guarantee your dog's safety. Vehicles may overheat and stall when the engine gets too hot. Newer cars are designed to shut down before this happens (EPA regulations). When the motor shuts down, the air conditioner stops working or may even start blowing hot air.

Rifle Animal Control Officer Dawn Neely told the Glenwood Springs Post-Independent if people see a pet in a car and it's over 70 degrees, they should call their local authorities. Neely urged people to take note of is the license plate, make, model and color of car. If they can, the reporting party should stay on scene; or, if there is more than one person on scene, go to the nearest business and have the car owner paged.