Bill Would Protect People Who Rescue Animals From Hot Cars

ATLANTA -- A state senator from east Cobb has introduced a bill in the General Assembly designed to protect people who rescue animals from hot cars some legal protection. State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick's Senate Bill 32 would protect those people from a lawsuit if they damage the vehicle in question.

The new measures would be added to an existing law protecting those who rescue children from hot cars, Kirkpatrick told the AJC, adding that current laws don't offer those same protections if they rescue an animal. Kirkpatrick said the bill would also require anyone breaking a window to rescue the animal to call 911.

“That would mitigate the possibility of someone just kidnapping an animal,” Kirkpatrick said.

Because most hot car deaths of children are accidental, some automotive companies have installed features to alert drivers to something in their back seats before getting out of the car.

Another Cobb lawmaker, Sen. Michael Rhett, is sponsoring Senate Bill 31, which would make law enforcement officers not liable for breaking a vehicle window to save a person or pet.

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State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick. Image Georgia State Senate.