Hundrends -- perhaps thousands -- of pets die every year due to heat exhaustion from being locked in hot cars. If it is seventy-five degrees outside, within twenty minutes, the temperature can reach up to one-hundred four degrees. That's a twenty-nine degree rise in an even less amount of minutes. And if the temperature is eighty, it takes just ten minutes to reach ninety-nine degrees.
The act of locking your dog in a hot car is indeed illegal in many states, but in the time it takes for 911 dispatchers to reach your location and retrieve the dog, it may die. Those who wish to help are apprehended by police for saving these animals' lives when they take action, such as breaking the glass. This shouldn't be the case. These people are Good Samaritans and should remain free from prosecution.