Moment woman who freed dog from van in 34C heat has furious bust-up with owner who yells 'Give me my dog!' as he threatens to punch her in the face

Published: 11:23, 1 July 2026 | Updated: 11:23, 1 July 2026 This is the moment a woman has a furious bust-up with a dog owner who threatened to punch her after she freed the pet from a van during last week's heatwave. The heated row started in a B&M store in Lichfield, Staffordshire, after a woman claimed a dog had been left in a vehicle as temperatures soared to a blistering 34C.  In a video, filmed inside the discount store, a man and a woman can be seen arguing when he accuses her of 'stealing' his dog while she claims she 'liberated' the pet pooch. The woman, who is holding the dog between her legs, says the dog was being kept in a hot car before the owner hits back that the window was open. While another shopper accused him of committing a crime.   Their altercation then escalates as he starts yelling at the woman to 'give him his dog or I'll lose my s***' before she appears to shove him and he threatens to hit her. The woman in her 30s was left shaken by the encounter after the man became 'aggressive and abusive', the Birmingham Mail reported. Staffordshire Police were then called to the store at around 1pm on Wednesday June 24.     The heated row started in a B&M store in Lichfield, Staffordshire, after a woman claimed a dog had been left in a vehicle as temperatures soared to a blistering 34C In the video, filmed inside the discount store, a man and a woman can be seen arguing when he accuses her of 'stealing' his dog while she claims she 'liberated' the pet pooch The force have now launched an investigation into the incident and are reviewing CCTV from the store. The RSPCA advises that even if dogs are left in cars parked in the shade, with windows open, the interior temperature of the vehicle can reach up to 47 degrees within an hour on an average summer day.    In a statement, Staffordshire Police told the Daily Mail: 'We are appealing for information after a woman was verbally abused after taking action to help a dog allegedly left in a hot car. 'The victim, a woman in her 30s, had spotted the dog in a car on the car park of Imperial Retail Park, Lichfield, at around lunchtime on Wednesday (24 June). 'She took the dog into a nearby store, on Eastern Avenue, which was air-conditioned, before alerting staff. 'The owner of the dog then reportedly became aggressive and abusive. 'Officers were called by store staff to the scene at 1pm, where we spoke to the victim and staff members, before reviewing CCTV footage from the store at the time. 'The woman was left shaken but unhurt. 'We are keen to speak to anybody who saw what happened or anyone who may have relevant dashcam footage. 'Call us on 101, use Live Chat on our website or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting incident number 455 of 24 June.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.