Man smashes window to save dog from hot car in New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (STORYFUL) - A man rescued a dog from a hot car that was left parked outside a Little Anita's restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on August 4.

Footage shows Gerasimos Klonis smashing the car's window with a crowbar in order to free the dog.

Speaking to KOB4, Klonis said that he could hear the dog before he saw it.

"The dog is sticking its snout out of a one to two-inch crack trying to breathe," he said. "It was obviously struggling to breathe."

Klonis said he tried calling 911 twice but due to the state the dog was in decided to take matters into his own hands.

"The longer I waited the more I was thinking about this moral dilemma to myself the more the answer became obvious to me because the dog was in clear distress," he said.

The video shows Klonis and his girlfriend giving the dog water once he was rescued from the car.

According to the same report, the owner showed up a few minutes later and said that he was unsure whether the dog, who was wearing a service dog vest, was allowed into the restaurant.

The owner now faces an animal cruelty charge, local reports said.