Officer Maharaj (middle, bottom right) adopts the dog she helped rescue from hot SUV | Upper East Site, NYPD (inset, bottom)
Officer Maharaj (middle, bottom right) adopts the dog she helped rescue from hot SUV | Upper East Site, NYPD (inset, bottom)

Dog Saved from Hot Car on the UES Adopted by Rescuer

A happy ending for a small, fluffy white dog locked in a sweltering SUV on the Upper East Side for hours last month, as one of the NYPD officers who came to the rescue that day gives the pup a forever home.

The NYPD says Officer Maharaj from the 19th Precinct, covering the Upper East Side, was among first cops who responded to 911 calls from help from frantic neighbors on the afternoon of June 17th.

Officer Maharaj (left) and her partner free dog locked in hot SUV | Upper East Site
Officer Maharaj (left) and her partner free dog locked in hot SUV | Upper East Site

Upper East Siders walking by the Volvo SUV parked on East 88th Street, between Second and Third Avenues, had spotted the American Eskimo tethered to the backseat, breathing heavily.

PRIOR COVERAGE | NYPD Officers Rescue Dog Locked in Hot Car for Hours, Owner Arrested

One woman used a syringe to squirt cold water into the SUV through cracked the sunroof, making the thirsty dog go wild as it lapped up the the water that dripped down the seats.

Officer Maharaj (center) was one of the dog's rescuers on June 17th | Upper East Site
Officer Maharaj (center) was one of the dog’s rescuers on June 17th | Upper East Site

 By the time officers smashed the window to free the dog, it had been trapped inside more than two-and-a-half hours. 

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The dog was taken to the ASPCA after the rescue and after undergoing examinations, was adopted by Officer Maharaj— giving the dog a ‘fur-ever home’ as the NYPD puts it.

Officer Maharaj has adopted the dog she helped rescue from a hot SUV | NYPD
Officer Maharaj has adopted the dog she helped rescue from the ASPCA | NYPD

The dog’s previous owner, 26-year-old Melwah Campos was arrested and charged with animal cruelty, police say.

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