Wareham Animal Control has received more calls than usual during these hot summer days from concerned people who have spotted Spot locked in a car.

Animal Control Officer Cheryl Gorveatt-Dill said the department typically gets three or four calls a week when the weather gets hot. When the department gets a call about a dog in an unattended vehicle, they check to see if a dog looks like it is under distress.

Signs of heatstroke in dogs include restlessness, excessive thirst, heavy panting, lethargy, dark tongue, fever, vomiting and rapid heartbeat, according to PETA.

Wareham Animal Control uses a thermometer to measure the temperature inside the car to determine whether there is time to try to find the dog’s owner. Then, Gorveatt-Dill said she checks to see if the doors are unlocked or she can reach in and unlock the door without having to break a window.

“We want to get the dog out as quickly as possible if it’s really hot inside the car,” Gorveatt-Dill said.

Since dogs do not sweat like people do (instead cooling down primarily by panting), they can become overheated quickly. So legally, an animal control department has the right to break a car window if there is no other way to access a dog. Most of the time, Gorveatt-Dill brings the dog to a shady area and gives it some water until the owner arrives.

In November 2016, An Act to Prevent Animal Suffering and Death was passed in Massachusetts. This prohibits pet owners from keeping an animal in a car when extreme heat or cold could be expected to threaten the animal’s health.

The Animal Rescue League of Boston is kicking off its summer campaign, Too Hot for Spot, this week to educate people of the dangers of leaving dogs unattended. People can be fined from $50 to $500 for leaving an animal in a hot car, according to Michael DeFina, Communications and Media Relations Officer of the Animal Rescue League of Boston.

"A lot of people don't realize how quickly a car can heat, especially when it's warm out," DeFina said. "If it's 70 degrees outside, even with the windows down, the temperature inside the car can rise to over 100 in a matter of minutes."

For concerned dog-lovers who notice a pet inside a car on a hot day, the best thing to do is call the police, Gorveatt-Dill said.

“I hate to see somebody breaking windows and then somebody’s going to get bit because you’ve got an aggressive dog,” Gorveatt-Dill said. Rather than taking things into their own hands, people should let animal control do their job.

DeFina said if it does seem that a dog is in a life-threatening situation, concerned people should make an effort to locate the owner of the vehicle after they call 911.

"If you have done these things and feel the dog is on the verge of dying of heat exposure, then you can take matters into your own hands and enter the vehicle," DeFina said. "But that is an absolute last resort."

“You are risking getting your window broken at the very least,” Gorveatt-Dill said. “If it’s a hot day and you love your dog, leave them home. If you would not sit in that car for that period of time in those conditions, the worst thing you can do is leave your dog.”