On July 1, 2015, Tennessee’s House Bill 537 went into effect making animal lovers extremely happy. This bill protects Good Samaritans saving pets trapped in hot cars from legal repercussions. Now, anyone in Tennessee who sees a dog trapped inside a car and in distress, can break into the vehicle, save the pet and be free of civil liability.

The law was introduced by Tennessee state Rep. David Hawk (R) after he learned of a dog dying and another one left with serious injuries, when the two were trapped inside a hot car and police officers took too long to respond to this emergency.

It only takes a few minutes for a dog trapped in a hot car to die. Sadly, in most U.S. states law enforcement officers are the only ones allowed to break into cars to save a pet’s life.

Tennessee’s new law is something we would like enforced in all 50 states.