The police and fire departments were both alerted the very same day the dog was noticed by the public, but they refused to break into the car as there are no legal provisions giving them the power to do so. Members of the public were incensed, calling the dog a victim of a system that neglected animal rights and calling for immediate reform of the relevant laws.

The dog was first noticed by netizen “xiao bao mei,” who posted a message on Animal Rescue Team's Web site. She noticed the brown dog, furiously barking and trapped inside a silver car, around noon on July 12 in a parking lot located in Chongli city's --inzhongbei Road. She wrote that all of the car windows were completely shut.

The temperature was approximately thirty-five degrees Celsius.

The Animal Rescue Team on the same day notified the police, who contacted the owner of the car. The owner, surname Kuo, said that the car was actually used by his son, who was working in Taoyuan.

He claimed that he had lost contact with his son for some time. The police said they could do nothing, as there are no legal provisions authorizing them to break into a private vehicle. The fire department gave the same response.

By the morning of July 13, more members of the public became concerned with the situation, and gathered around the car to check up on the dog. By that time, the dog had curled up in the back of the car, motionless. After public cries for action grew, the fire and police departments smashed the window and broke into the car, only to find the icy-cold corpse of the dog.

The owner of the dog was contacted by the police. He claimed that he had been unemployed for some time, and immediately jumped on a job offer in Taoyuan.

As the company did not allow dogs on its premises, he had planned to leave the dog there for a few days until he could find somebody else to care for it.

He denied that he had any intention of abusing his dog. He will be investigated by the county's agriculture department in order to determine whether he will be charged under animal protection laws.