Hot days can be deadly to the smallest creatures – especially the ones who rely on people to care for them.

So when a call came in from frantic beachgoers about a puppy who was in distress, a Connecticut fire department rushed to the rescue, unsure of what they would find.

And once they reached the car, where the inside temperature was reaching more than 120 degrees, firefighters found a struggling puppy – and one that would end up changing the face of their department..

First, though, they would need to save him.

East Haven Mayor Joseph Carfora snuggles the newest member of the fire department. Photo courtesy of Mayor Joseph Carfora

“A passerby noticed the dog was in the car on the floor near the seat and hunkering down underneath the dashboard,” said East Haven Fire Chief Matthew Marcarelli. “They tried to locate the people on the beach that may own the car and the dog and they couldn’t. ”

Eventually, we were called with animal control and we forced entry into the vehicle to free the dog from the car.”

The dog, Marcarelli said, was about six-months old and showing signs of distress.

“The windows were only open a tiny bit, so it wasn’t really getting any air. We suspect that the owners of Riggs [the dog] may have tried to go to the beach and were turned away when they had a pet – because pets are not allowed on the beach – and went back to their car and locked him in, and then went back to the beach,” he said.

The owners, who at first were missing, finally came forward and agreed to surrender the puppy. Riggs, the new name he was given, was miraculously given a clean bill of health by the local animal shelter.

And the fire chief was already smitten with the happy puppy.

“Once I saw his personality and everything, [I] really started to get my gears turning about bringing him back here as a station support dog,” Marcarelli said.

“We allowed him to stay here at the station for four days so everybody could meet him and see if he’d be a good fit,” he said.

“Riggs struck a chord with everybody,” and when Marcarelli polled his staff on whether they should keep him, it was an “overwhelming” yes.

The inside temperature of a car was 122 degrees when Riggs was rescued. Photo by East Haven Fire Department

Riggs’ rescue was just the beginning of his miraculous journey – the fire department plans to train him to aid in the mental health of the fire fighters, as well as visit members of their community.

“How we envision his role is to endear himself to the personnel and it helps them mitigate with the stressors of the business … post-traumatic stress … [Riggs] allows them to redirect their energy from that into the dog,” Marcarelli said. 

We see a lot of tragedy and some folks try to internalize it. We have ways of dealing with it and he’s going to be one of those ways to help us,” he said.

Marcarelli also hopes this serves as a lesson to others who leave their animals in a car. Not always are the pets so lucky.

“You can’t leave a pet in a car. The temperature skyrockets in a vehicle when it’s warm out,” the fire chief said. “Dogs in particular are subject to dehydration fairly quickly. They don’t perspire so they require their ability to breathe and the use of their tongue and hyperventilation to cool themselves off. So, if they’re locked in the car, there’s no way that’s going to happen.”

For a look at this plucky little fire dog, watch below!

Sources: Good Morning America | NY Post