WASHINGTON 鈥� Prince George鈥檚 County firefighters are calling it a 鈥淒og day of summer鈥� after giving three dogs a ride home aboard a fire truck in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
It started Saturday morning outside a Home Depot in Oxon Hill. Firefighters showed up to check on a man complaining about chest pains, but they learned he wasn鈥檛 really sick.
Instead he told firefighters 鈥渉e had been drinking and he was intoxicated,鈥� according to fire department spokesman Mark Brady.聽 They tried to offer him a ride to get checked out by doctors, but it turns out he just really wanted to go home.
鈥淏ut we couldn鈥檛 just let him drive away in his condition,鈥� said Brady.聽 Police convinced the man to walk, but Brady said there was some concern about him walking home with the three dogs.
鈥淪o the firefighters offered to take the three dogs home with them on board their fire engine,鈥� Brady said. 鈥淭hey did so. The dogs were very good-natured. They seemed to enjoy the ride in the different type of vehicle.聽 Holding their heads out the window of a fire truck is something different you don鈥檛 see every day going down the road.鈥�
The good news is everyone got home safely — but that鈥檚 not where the story聽ended.
While firefighters were in that parking lot, 鈥渢hey noticed another vehicle that had a dog inside 鈥� unattended,鈥� Brady said.
And even on a comfortable summer day outside, Brady said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 still very dangerous to have anyone, either a person, a child, or a pet, left inside an unattended vehicle with all the windows rolled up.鈥�
A firefighter was prepared to smash open a window for the dog, who聽Brady says appeared to be in some distress, when another firefighter found one of the doors unlocked.
They let the dog out, gave it some water and waited for the car鈥檚 owner to come back.
鈥淔irefighters explained to the car owner the danger of what they did,鈥� Brady said.
鈥淚 believe the message was received loud and clear,鈥� Brady added.
