NEWARK — Port Authority police rescued a small dog left inside a car on the second level of the Terminal C parking garage at Newark Liberty International Airport in Tuesday afternoon's heat.

Officers patrolling the garage found Baxter inside the car around 2 p.m. and were able to open the door through the sunroof, which was left slightly open, after about 15 minutes, Port Authority police said in a statement. Baxter was taken to the Associated Humane Society of New Jersey, police said.

Townsquare New Jersey Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow said the high temperature at the airport was 87 degrees on Tuesday. The temperature inside a car heats up very quickly and can be at least 20 degrees higher than it is outside, according to Zarrow.

Police said the dog’s owner did not return to the car for nearly an hour and was charged with cruelty to animals.

Port Authority police did not disclose the identity of Baxter's owner.

On Saturday night, 38-year-old Milady Borda of Elizabeth was arrested for leaving her three young kids, one of them under a year old, in a locked car with its windows up parked in a garage at the Wind Creek casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

No arrests have been made after a 2-year-old girl was left inside a minivan parked at the Lindenwold PATCO station on Friday afternoon. Nasir Lawrence told CBS Philly he is the girl's father, and said she had been in the care of her aunt and uncle while he served an 18-month prison sentence. He said he'd been trying to regain custody of the girl.

Baxter, a dog rescued from car at Newark Liberty International Airport
Baxter, a dog rescued from car at Newark Liberty International Airport (Port Authority)
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Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ.

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