Newbury dog rescue hero: 'I'd do it again' as video goes viral
'I’d like to think that any right-minded person would do their best to rescue an animal in that situation'
BILL Morris, whose quick-thinking helped to rescue a Yorkshire terrier from a boiling hot car on one of the hottest days of the year has been hailed a hero worldwide.
The drama unfolded 10 days ago, during the heatwave, when Samantha and Eddie Heaver spotted the dog in the car parked next to theirs, outside Currys PC World at Newbury Retail Park. They were concerned for its welfare, but were not sure what to do.
The desperate animal was saved by quick-thinking Mr Morris, who smashed his way into the front passenger window using the blunt end of an axe.
“I smashed the car window to rescue that dog – and I’d do it again,” said Mr Morris after a video of him breaking into the VW Golf went viral on social media.
Eddie and Samantha Heaver spotted the overheating dog
Mrs Heaver, who lives in Penwood, said: “Eddie saw the dog and could hear it panting. The window was open maybe an inch, but it was a boiling hot day.”
Luckily, Mr Morris had just arrived at the retail park. He said: “Unfortunately I had cut my finger very badly and needed stitches, but they couldn’t see me straight away at the hospital, so I nipped up to the retail park to get some things.”
He overheard Mr and Mrs Heaver talking and went over to see what the problem was.
Mrs Heaver said: “He [Mr Morris] called 999 and was told to call 101, but was put on hold, so he asked me to video his actions in case the police needed to see it.”
Mr Morris, from Great Shefford, said: “I own a business that supplies equipment to woodland estates and I also manage an estate, so I have some of the items heavily padlocked in my car.
“A lot of people have wondered why I had an axe to hand, but it is what I do, I carry this equipment around with me all the time.
“I asked Sam [Mrs Heaver] to hang on to the phone in case 101 answered and to video me, so that I could account for my actions – I never imagined it would go viral.”
A still from the video shows Mr Morris smashing his way into the car
While Mr Morris was smashing into the car with the blunt side of the axe, some police officers on their break drove in to get a sandwich from nearby Marks & Spencer.
“I went over to them and explained what we had done,” said Mr Morris. “They came over and helped us to get the dog out of the car. It was then taken to Falkland Vets to be looked over.”
When the dog’s owner returned to her vehicle with her child, she was visibly shaken, said Mr Morris.
“She thought she had only been gone 15 to 20 minutes, but we had been there for half-an-hour and so it had to have been longer.
“I asked her if she would leave her little girl in the car in this heat and she said of course not. She was clearly upset and just hadn’t thought about the consequences of leaving the dog.”
“If what we did raises awareness for people that leaving any living creature in a car is not acceptable, then that’s a good thing.
“Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. I’d like to think that any right-minded person would do their best to rescue an animal in that situation.”
The Yorkshire terrier is pulled from the VW Golf
A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: “A member of the public did smash a car window to get a dog out of a car.
“Two of our Pcsos attended, the dog was taken by one of the Pcsos for a check over. The owner of the vehicle returned and was given advice.”
Mr Morris has been hailed a hero worldwide, after the video was posted on Facebook and his actions made the national and international news, with messages of congratulations coming from around the world.
The Newbury Weekly News contacted Falkland Vets, but it would not comment on the welfare of the dog.
