Photo: Daniel Hayduk - Castanet

An RCMP officer had to smash the window of a car to get to an unattended baby left in the sun in Kelowna Monday.

Just 48 hours after a six-month-old puppy died in a car in Burnaby, police had to rescue a four-month-old baby from inside a car in the Zellers' parking lot in Kelowna.

Police were alerted Monday afternoon after a passerby noticed the unattended baby inside the vehicle.

RCMP shattered the front passenger side window and handed the baby over to waiting paramedics who transported the child to hospital.

"All the windows were rolled up to about an inch of the top and there was no one around the locked vehicle," says RCMP Const. Steve Holmes.

"Concerned for the child's safety, police broke out the front window and took the now perspiring baby out of the hot car."

The baby was handed over to waiting paramedics who transported the girl to hospital where she was checked out for possible heat stroke.

"It was found that the child had an elevated core temperature but seemed to be otherwise unharmed."

Holmes says the Ministry of Child and Family Development are now involved, and the child's 22-year-old mother from Alberta could face charges of child abandonment.

Two women, including the mother, who were with the child told Castanet's reporter at the scene the baby was fine.

They also told our reporter he shouldn't be allowed to take pictures as this is a private matter. They said they now have to deal with Social Services.

They also indicated they were only shopping for 10 minutes.

"Babies and toddlers are not able to regulate their body temperatures by removing clothing to compensate for the heat. Further, they are unable to unlock doors or roll down windows to free themselves from a rapidly heating car interior. They are at the mercy of whoever has the keys to the vehicle unless someone intervenes. Simply put, children should NEVER be left unattended in a vehicle even for a moment."

In Burnaby on Saturday, a six-month-old puppy died after being left in a vehicle for about three hours.

In that instance, even though the sunroof was left open, the temperature inside the vehicle was reported to be 68 C. 

Baby left in car

Photo: Daniel Hayduk

Photo: Daniel Hayduk

Photo: Daniel Hayduk

Photo: Daniel Hayduk

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