A passerby came to the aid of a puppy that was heard barking and in obvious distress inside a vehicle in a parking lot on Holland Street West in Bradford on Saturday afternoon.
At the time, South Simcoe Police say the weather was hot and sunny with a temperature of 28 degrees Celsius.
The windows of the vehicle were rolled down about 2.5 inches.
The citizen was able to squeeze his arm into the vehicle's windows to unlock the door and then removed the animal to a store where it was given water to cool down.
Police say from the information they obtained the puppy was left in the car for about 30 minutes.
The owner, a 23-year-old Tottenham woman, arrived on the scene and spoke with officers.
She was charged with causing distress to an animal under the provincial animal welfare services act.