Woman Locks Dog in Car During Heatwave; Did Samaritan Retribution Go Too Far?

Most people know that it's dangerous to leave a dog in a vehicle during a heatwave, but for one Norristown woman, having dog feces placed in her vehicle's air vents apparently wasn't enough of a reminder.

During the early afternoon on June 14, police responded to a report of vandalism to a vehicle at the Norristown Library. There, they encountered the victim, who stated that sometime between 9:45 a.m. and 11 a.m., someone entered her vehicle – which had her dog inside – and spread dog feces in various areas of the vehicle, including the center console and the driver's side of the interior, police said.

The victim then reportedly explained to police that this wasn't an isolated incident, and that two weeks earlier, someone placed dog feces into the air vents of her vehicle after she again left her dog in the car during a heatwave. 
She added that she did not know the feces were present in the vents until she drove off, the report states.

Having had enough, the victim informed police that she believed someone had a problem with her leaving her dog in the car while she was inside the library using a computer to look for a job. The report mentions that a library employee had confronted the victim about leaving her dog in the car, but the employee denied having any involvement in the repeated fecal vandalism, police said.

Police then informed the victim that it is not safe to leave her dog inside of her vehicle in heat, the report states. Despite previously stating that she had been away for more than an hour, the victim now stated that she checks on her dog every 20 minutes and leaves the windows cracked open, according to the report.

The report estimates that it will cost upwards of $205 to clean the vehicle. The person responsible for the vandalism remains unknown at this time.