STROUDSBURG, Pa. -- Mary Morgan adores animals. On Friday, she adopted a cat named Fred from the AWSOM Animal Shelter in Stroudsburg.
"We consider our pets our children," said Morgan.
Morgan was happy to hear first responders can now break into vehicles to rescue pets.
"I think it`s a great law. I do. If I see an animal or anything in distress, I always want to help," said Morgan.
The staff at the Animal Welfare Society of Monroe is especially happy about this law. They told Newswatch 16 during the summer they get a lot of phone calls and online inquiries about what to do with animals trapped in vehicles.
"We were always saying we can't do that. So, now we have a direction, we can notify people. We can have the numbers on hand and say this is what you need to do, please take positive action," said AWSOM president Sandra Fellin.
Fellin told us while many people are aware that leaving a pet in a hot car is dangerous - they don't realize leaving pets in cars in cold weather is also risky.
"It's like being inside of a tin can either way. It's hotter inside the car. It's colder inside the car," said Fellin.
She applauded lawmakers for doing what they can to make it easier to rescue animals.
"It's way overdue. I think it`s a really good thing," said Fellin.
Before breaking into a vehicle a first responder must first try to locate the driver. After rescuing an animal, they must leave a notice explaining what happened and where the animal can be picked up.
The vehicle owner is responsible for any vehicle repairs.