A St. Catharines man has been charged after leaving his dog in a car on a 30 degree day.

Niagara Regional Police officers spotted a parked car with a dog inside around 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

It was 32 degrees outside at the time.

The windows on the driver’s door and back were open about three inches.

They say the English bulldog had been left in the vehicle for 45 minutes and appeared to be in distress.

Officers removed the dog through an unlocked door.

The animal was given water and was brought into the air conditioned police cruiser to cool down.

The dog’s owner, a 62-year-old man, was charged with causing undue suffering to an animal.

Police are reminding pet owners it doesn’t take long to put your pet in a harmful situation when left in a vehicle on a hot day.