Acts of heroism can never be undone, but sometimes those being rescued don’t exactly need the help. For example, the very lifelike, yet very not alive, doll that police saved from a hot car in New Hampshire recently.

According to Keene, NH police, an officer broke a car window last month to rescue what looked a heck of a lot like a baby, reports WMUR, after someone called 9-1-1 to report an infant left inside the vehicle, which was parked at a shopping plaza on a hot July day.

“I got there as soon as I could,” the officer told the station. “I don’t know how fast I was going, but it was quick.”

He looked inside and saw the car seat, covered with a light blanket with little feet clad in non-soled shoes peeping out, and a bottle of milk. So he shattered the window with his baton, and found what appeared to be a lifeless baby. But once he breathed into the baby’s mouth, he realized something was… off.

“And I went to put my finger in its mouth and it was all resistance,” he said. “And I’m like, ‘This is a doll.’” He then canceled his call for an ambulance.

The doll is a type that’s made to look exactly like a baby, and is valued at more than $2,000. It’s owned by a woman who has about 40 others, who began collecting the dolls as a way to cope with the death of her son. Though she’s upset with the damage to her car (which the police department has offered to pay for), the officer said he had no choice but to act.

“I would never assume that it’s a doll,” he said. “I would always assume that it’s a child. I would never do anything different.”

But on that note, to avoid someone smashing your car windows in, he advises to either take a doll with you into the store or leave it at home.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of heroic deeds performed for naught: last September, emergency responders shattered a car’s windows after reports of a baby locked inside, only to find another very lifelike doll.

Keene police surprised to find ‘baby’ rescued from hot car was lifelike doll [WMUR]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.