Leaving someone in your hot car is now the summer’s hottest meme

Summer is upon us, and you know what that means: Beaches, bikinis, and people fighting on the Internet about how hot the interior of a car can get in direct sunlight.

And, because the season won’t be complete until we get a handful of stories about strangers breaking windows to rescue babies or pets negligently left in these parking lot ovens, a presumably staged photo designed to inflame the masses has captured social media’s normally fragmented attention. Go ahead and take a look.

https://twitter.com/fee020/status/736410564793110528

The image’s origins remain murky. Select All reported that @fee020, a teen who claimed that the dog was named Kram and enjoyed the pop stylings of Rihanna, had made up that backstory after finding the photo elsewhere online. It didn’t much matter; the flames of hot-car controversy were fanned, and the memes began.

https://twitter.com/bseyka/status/737843548310102016

But this was never destined to be a Photoshop meme. In the week since the picture blew up, people have repurposed and mocked the language of the sign, less so the specific visual.  

https://twitter.com/haramkilam/status/739349709483954177

https://twitter.com/ngvhi/status/737815492925087744

https://twitter.com/brobekcs/status/739176262199975936

the ac is on
he has water & is listening to his favorite music pic.twitter.com/oApnH4B5ZA

— iz (@izzzycarrolll) May 31, 2016

https://twitter.com/anselm__/status/739326203106971648

https://twitter.com/jcolemojis/status/739148642611781632

please do not break window. the ac is on. he has water and is listening to his favorite music pic.twitter.com/4ikf9fiZrW

— jen murphy (@slugcities) June 6, 2016

https://twitter.com/kennaban14/status/739662884163178497

The AC is on. He has water and is listening to his favorite music. pic.twitter.com/0omDbgwSfq

— DeliciousKekletariat (@DELICIOUSKEK) June 6, 2016

*please do not break the window*!!
He has water, the ac is on and he's listening to his favorite music pic.twitter.com/JwTknOooVj

— elaina (@radelaina) June 6, 2016

https://twitter.com/CongaDes/status/739714193373429760

https://twitter.com/soIojinhwan/status/739665466340282369

https://twitter.com/MustafaSammor/status/739651746729889793

https://twitter.com/ocenyan/status/739647791480217601

Please do not break the window. The AC is on. He has water and is listening to his favorite music pic.twitter.com/BrxNZiqohs

— dope, it is tom (@DOPEITSTOM) June 5, 2016

The AC is on. He has water and is listening to his favorite music. pic.twitter.com/avMTEvuTqY

— 👹 andrew dongs 👹 (@mustlovedongs) June 5, 2016

the ac is on.
he has water.
and is listening to his favorite music pic.twitter.com/EDYhUfcx98

— chiquita potato (@Kbumm_) June 5, 2016

So yeah, even though it may soon be legal to smash car windows to rescue pets, the next time you see a Shrek doll alone in the passenger seat, try not to panic. He’s quite comfortable and rocking out to Smash Mouth.