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Royals fans break into car to rescue whimpering puppy in 90-degree temps

One family was on their way out of Sunday's Kansas City Royals game when they discovered a fan in distress: a dog inside a locked car.
/ Source: TODAY

One family was on their way out of Sunday's Kansas City Royals game when they discovered a fan in distress: a dog whimpering loudly inside a locked car.

With temperatures creeping up to the low 90s at Kauffman Stadium, brothers Michael Warner and Josh Lee, along with Lee's wife and 5-year-old son, sprung into action upon noticing the puppy's cries for help.

fans rescue pup from hot car at Royals game
A puppy was found whimpering inside this car on a day when temperatures were in the 90s.@Notre_Josh / twitter

Lee immediately called 911, and shortly thereafter, stadium personnel worked with Warner to remove the dog from the car. A car window was slightly cracked, allowing Warner to pull it down further and get his arm inside to open the door.

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"Once we got the back door open where the puppy was, he came running out so fast," Warner told TODAY in an email. "He was so happy to just see people and be out of that hot car."

fans rescue pup from hot car at Royals game
Michael Warner holds the dog he helped rescue.@Notre_Josh / twitter

The puppy, who is between 12 and 16 weeks old, was eventually taken to the Kansas City Pet Project, where he was set to undergo further evaluation.

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Warner left his name in hopes of eventually adopting the pup, but he was heartbroken to find out just a day later that someone else had already put a deposit down to adopt the dog.

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While Lee is sad his brother won't be taking home their new four-legged friend, he's grateful the situation was a valuable learning experience for his son Hudson.

"He witnessed first hand how irresponsibility is costly to more than just one's self," Lee said. "Pets are living creatures, not toys. He saw effective teamwork that ended in positive results."

Mike Swanson, vice president of communications for the Kansas City Royals, shared the below statement with TODAY on behalf of the team.

“It was a situation you hate to have happen anywhere, but we as an organization are thankful to the fans who discovered the puppy and brought it to our attention...It’s heartbreaking that something like this ever occurs, but in this particular case, luck was on our side and on the side of the pup’s."