If you haven’t been following this story, you can check out our first post by clicking here. Â These was also a follow up post you can view by clicking here.
Back on May 12th, we brought you the story of Michael Hammons. Â A Desert Storm Vet that took it upon himself to rescue a dog trapped in a hot car in Georgia, who was arrested and charged with crimes for his efforts. Â Well, authorities in Georgia have dropped the charges against Hammons.
After hearing from someone else also in the parking lot where the incident happened that there was a dog in distress, trapped in a locked, hot car, Hammons sprang into action. Â He grabbed one of the leg rests off of his wife’s wheelchair, and went over to the car. Â He then broke the window, and got the dog out.
The owner of the vehicle was informed of what had happened, he was very unhappy. Â She demanded that Hammons be arrested and charged with at very least breaking and entering. Â The police had no choice but to arrest him.
As it stands in Georgia, you can break into a car to rescue a human, but there is nothing that protects dogs in a similar way. Â Something Hammons feels is just plain wrong.
“The laws need to be changed to protect the animals, not necessarily the people,” said Mark Martin. Â Martin runs a pet store, and has become a huge supporter of Hammons’ cause. Â “We are the voices for the animals. Â They can’t speak for themselves.”
After a local Ford dealership offered to replace the broken window free of charge, and after talking to police, the owner of the vehicle agreed to drop the charges against Hammons. Â Ken Mauldin, district attorney for Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties also agreed to the decision.
Now, Hammons and many other dog and animal lovers are working on getting the laws changed in Georgia. Â They are pushing for animals to be granted the same protection from the dangers of being locked in a hot car. Â Something that should have been a law on the books already, as some feel.
