Bryan Maher said he had left his dog -- appropriately named Bentley -- inside the van with the engine running to allow the heater to function while Maher was inside the Cool Beanz coffee shop performing at an open mike night, the New York Post reported Thursday.

Maher theorized Bentley saw him through the van's windows and began "pawing the glass, as dogs will do. He inadvertently hit the shift lever into neutral."

The van rolled down an incline and crashed through a window into the coffee shop.

"There was Bentley sitting behind the window like he was saying, 'Here I am!' He was as happy as can be," Maher said.

No one was injured in the crash.

As for punishing the driving pooch, Maher joked: "He's definitely going to lose his license."