Myrtle Beach officer reunites with puppy rescued from hot car

Myrtle Beach, S.C. (WPDE) — A Myrtle Beach police officer was reunited with a puppy she rescued from a hot car over the weekend.

Officer Whitney Fee responded to a call Saturday night about a puppy, about seven weeks old, who was left in a car at a hotel for more than seven hours.

She says when she found the puppy Saturday night, he was extremely dehydrated and exhausted.

"When we saw him he was in a lot of distress," Officer Fee said in an interview that can only be found on ABC15 News. "He was very hot to the touch and when you pinched his skin it wasn't bouncing back. So you could tell he was very dehydrated. He started gulping water."

Officer Fee got the chance to check on the puppy at the Grand Strand Humane Society on Tuesday afternoon.

"They did a wonderful job with him," said Jessica Wnuk, with the humane society, about the responding officers. "By the time he got to us he had already been cooled down, he was at a good temperature and we were able to just take care of him as we would a normal puppy. They really were the heroes."

Wnuk says puppies and older dogs are at a higher risk for dehydration and heat exhaustion.

She warns people to not leave their pets in the car for any amount of time during these hot conditions.

"Unfortunately we see a huge spike of animals left in the car during the summer months," said Wnuk. "All it takes is minutes to have heat stroke."

Officer Fee, a dog lover herself, knew the potential danger the puppy was in and stepped in to action Saturday night.

“Kids and puppies. It’s really hard to put your emotions aside. Those are the calls that you do take home with you. Luckily for this case it was a very good outcome and kind of a happy ending for us," she said.

Within 24 hours, theowner of the puppy,Romany Newkirk, 19, was arrested and charged with mistreatment of animals in connection with the incident, according to the police department's booking website.

We're told she has surrendered over her rights of the puppy.

Officer Fee hopes this is a lesson for everyone as we head into summer.

"This situation is near and dear to my heart," she said. "Swift and severe is what will prevent people from doing it down the road, and summer is just getting started. Unfortunately we get a lot of these calls, but the more we educate the less we could have going forward."

The officer who also responded with Officer Fee to the call is currently in the process of adopting the puppy.