That time of year again...

[Prin]

It's getting hotter and sunnier as summer draws near. But of course with summer comes pets locked in cars and minivans, left to bake in the sun, with the windows cracked open less than an inch.

There was one of them today across from the dog park. A white lab mix left in the minivan with the two back windows pushed open and the front ones cracked less than an inch. He's been there since between 8 and 9 this morning. He had a bucket of water in there with him, but it has dried up a long time ago. He has food in there with him too-- I wonder how long they planned to leave him there.

We went to the police to report it (they're right around the corner from there) and they said they would contact the owner but there was not much else they could do. What else could we have done? Personally, I was just about ready to break the van windows and get him out of there but I don't know what the scads of on-lookers would have done to me... This is the third car I have reported to the police since last summer. I don't know what else to do, but I can't just leave them there having done nothing at all...

Cracking the windows a bit is not enough at all. People should do it to themselves first, wearing a fur coat, to see how intolerable it is.

Just please remember this summer how hot it gets in a car in the sun (or even under clouds for that matter). A 5 minute stop tends to turn into a 20 minute stop or an hour stop and meanwhile your dog is dying. :sad:

[goldenblaze]

Doesn't that make you sick...stupid people leaving animals in cars. I recall last summer very hot day I was at work, as I was looking out my office window I saw two men leaving a car going into a place for lunch. I noticed a westie in the back set...it drove me crazy as I watched for the men to return, no they were staying in this place as I was hoping they were picking up their food. I called the police and told them the dog was in the car, it was way too long to leave this dog. I asked if I could put some water in the car or get the dog out..they told me yes if the car was not locked. Me and 2 others went to the car, it was locked but I reached in through the window used something to unlock the door. I took the dog out of the car... I let it walk around, sit in the shade as my coworked brought so cold water out. I put some water on her face to cool her down , she had some water and as we were still waiting for the cops to come the men came out... there I was with there dog beside their car. I told them I called the police and was told to get the dog out and give it water. Ok I was not telling all of it but who cares. I told them how it was too hot to leave this poor westie alone in the car with no water... they looked at me like I was nuts took the dog and went to leave. I asked them to take the water with them... they did and left. The police came, it was too late but they took their plate # and went from there. I never heard anything after that but I think atleast the two stupid men knew that if they did it again someone would help the dog... they were not happy I called the police but I hope this makes them think twice before doing it again. :sad:

[bremarie03]

People get charged with animal cruelty. I don't know how hot it gets where you are, but I live in Arizona, where, mid-summer when its 110 degrees F outside, it can reach 150 F in a matter of minutes :sad: in a vehicle, even with windows open a bit. Just as bad (or worse) there are people who intentionally leave their human kids in cars, then have the audacity to be shocked when they're arrested. I will never understand it.....

I have been on the verge of breaking car windows to get both pets and kids out of cars. Once I flagged down a police car, and the officer broke the window out, and the other time, the owner came running when she saw the crowd gathered around her van....absolute neglectful morons at best, animal abusing criminals at worst...actually criminals either way; stupidity isn't a defense in my opinion....

[goldenblaze]

Yes people can charged with animal cruelty but how often does it really happen I never take my boys out in a hot day alone if I need to stop anywhere. The only way is if someone is with me in my car, I run into a store with my A/C going while they wait with the boys in the car.

[Shamrock]

Prin, yes... you are so right, a very good heads up about this very real danger.
As you say, its almost always a case of where someone decided to "just run in to the store quickly"

One sad example here was a man who left his dog in the parkade at the airport while he met a flight. A very likely spot to encounter delays - what was he thinking?
A woman noticed the large dog, thought he may be in distress, but she only called for help when she returned to her own vehicle to find to her horror that the dog was "still" there. If only she had acted sooner - it was too late.
The owner was absolutely devastated of course. His neglience caused this death, a heavy burden to bear.
The authorities decided not to charge him he instead gave talks on this topic of the dangers of leaving animals in vehicles in summer.

[Safyre]

I have called the OSPCA about someone at my former workplace. It was closer to summer, upwards of 80 degrees and there was a lab in the back of her van.
I called the OSPCA, gave the van liscense, and the name of the owner (i knew whos van it was) and they came into work to get her.
The dog had been removed by the time the OSPCA got there, she was only 'holding it for a friend' so she didn't get charged... otherwise she woulda been charged with animal neglect

[Schwinn]

We saw a big black dog in a car on the weekend at the grocery store. I've thought about breaking the window before myself, but then I remembered the time I left Daisy in my truck. I left the window up, and when I came out, people were giving me dirty looks. What they didn't know was that I had the air cranked just before I went in, and the cold air that hit me when I opened the door gave me goose bumps. And I was only a minute, running into a corner store for a drink. Now I try to look at the dog to see if it's in distress before I do anything rash. Daisy always gives me the big sad eyes, and it breaks my heart to leave her at home, though I must.

I remember when I was a teller, and then some woman started yelling at me to hurry up because it was 90 degrees out and her kid was in the car and I was taking too long. Unfortunatly, I couldn't get my manager's attention to call the police on this idiot. On the plus side, I feel better about my qualifications to be a parent!

[kandy]

I agree that if you can't sit in the car with the windows closed in a fur coat, then it's too hot for them too. If it is hot outside, I never take my dogs with me if I think they'll have to stay in the vehicle. If they are with me, I leave the A/C running full blast - but this only happens if we are on the way to the lake or something and need to stop before heading out. I hear about this happening all the time and it just makes me furious!! But I think the worst thing I have ever seen was a few years ago. A friend of mine had a neighbor whose dog constantly barked. She is a dog person, so she just kind of ignored it after months of barking. One mid morning, she noticed that the dog wasn't barking so she went into the alley to look into the neighbor's yard. One of the dogs owners had taped the muzzle shut with duct tape. It was very hot and my friend knew that the dog could not pant with her mouth taped, so she called the police. They told her to call Animal Control, which she did. After getting the run around for 20 minutes, they finally told her they would send someone out. The police had told her that she could not go into the yard and if she did, the owners could charge her with trespassing. It took the animal control folks over 90 minutes to get there and by that time the dog was dead. My friend had called in twice more telling them to hurry, but to no avail. The owner of the dog was charged $50 for animal cruelty. Unfortunately, my friend is very shy and could not bring herself to jump the fence (I would've had it been me) and she was so upset at herself for not saving the dog. I was also upset at her for not saving the dog. She could've called me and I would've gladly taken the risk for the trespassing ticket to save the dog. I think that if our (meaning US) laws against animal cruelty were stricter, this type of thing would happen less.

[BEAR_NZ]

Nothing makes my blood boil more than an animal or human put into a distressed or dangerous state by someone elses thoughtlessness. About four months ago i had been to a fair, it was the middle of the New Zealand summer and it was a scorcher of a day... As we walked along the pavement to get to the fair, i noticed a poor little poodle in a car, panting, exhausted, and alone. we knew the dear little thing was not doing so well... and after trying the doors which were locked decided to flag down a passing police car. The two police officers acted very swiftly, they broke into the car (and broke the central locking system whilst they did this....), removed the wee dog, and ticketed the owners of the car. Yahoo!!!! what an amazing relief we all felt at taking action, getting the irresponsible owners to face up to their carelessness, and freeing the dog. I guess involving the local law inforcement was a good idea, as if you try to do this as an individual you can be charged with breaking and entering and theft.... even though you have just done the most wonderful deed...
Prin thank you for posting this reminder... I challenge each and every reader to write a brief reminder to the local paper and get it published, as the more we get the message out that leaving pets in hot cars is unacceptable, hopefully the less it will happen... and i agree with Kandy, hopefully there will be a stronger penalty for people who choose to ignore the warnings and leave their pets in the car.