Authorities have dropped charges against a military veteran who broke a window to free a dog from a hot car.

Michael Hammons jumped into action when he saw a dog inside of a rapidly-heating Mustang earlier this month at an Athens-area shopping center.  Hammons broke the window of the car to free the dog.

Afterwards – at the insistence of the dog’s owner — Hammons was arrested for criminal trespass, sparking a debate over the need for laws protecting animals.

On Monday, Western Judicial Circuit District Attorney Ken Mauldin said the charges against Hammons had been dropped. The car’s owner agreed to the decision to drop the charges.

Hammons, a Desert Storm veteran, said he acted after hearing someone say the dog was in distress in the Mustang.  Onlookers had been waiting for police.

“He says we can’t let this dog die, and he starts smashing the windows,” shopper Diane Byard recalled.

And with his wife’s wheelchair leg, he smashed the window, freeing the dog.

“I’ve got PTSD, and I’ve seen enough death and destruction,” Hammons said about his decision. “And I didn’t want anything else to happen if I could prevent it.”

Witnesses said when the owner came out of the store, she was furious, and demanded deputies take action.

The owner was cited for leaving the dog in the hot car. But without surveillance video, deputies said it was hard to tell how long the dog was actually left in the car.