What would you do if you saw a dog in a hot car?

[Lilac]

DH and I went to Ikea today and on our way back to the car we heard loud barking. We got to our car and noticed there was a dog left alone in a car right near ours. The windows were cracked open, but not nearly enough, and it was soo humid and about 90 degrees outside. I almost started crying - I felt so bad for this poor dog, and I felt so helpless.

What do you do in this situation? We sat there for a few minutes - I got out of the car and walked around looking to see if anyone was around, but I assume the owner was in the store or something so I had no idea what to do. Eventually we had to leave for an appointment, but the whole day I''ve been thinking about this poor dog. I hope he/she is ok

I can''t understand how someone could just leave a dog in a car like that on such a hot day. Has anyone ever seen this before? What did you do? Is there anyone to call or is it just a situation where there''s not much you can do if you don''t see anyone around the car? I love dogs and I just can''t imagine doing something like this

 

[*Danielle*]

When I see that the owners are normally only running into the store for a minute. In your situation I may have called animal control or the police.

 

[Lilac]

Date: 7/27/2009 12:23:05 AM
Author: *Danielle*
When I see that the owners are normally only running into the store for a minute. In your situation I may have called animal control or the police.

How do you call animal control? What would you say? Unfortunately I didn''t think of it this afternoon, but just in case this happens again I would like to know how...

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Date: 7/27/2009 12:23:05 AM
Author: *Danielle*
When I see that the owners are normally only running into the store for a minute. In your situation I may have called animal control or the police.

Ditto. I''d wait a few minutes for the owner..try to get the store to make an announcement if it was clear what store they were in and if it was possible. After exploring those avenues..animal control then non-emergency number for the cops.

Sorry you saw this Lilac..

 

[VRBeauty]

I encountered a similar situation once -- I told the store management, they paged the owner, and I stuck around, ready to call the police, until the owner came out and took care of the situation. I''m sure that wouldn''t work in all cases, but it did that time.

 

[Kaleigh]

I have seen this a lot, I go into the store and alert the manager... People here are very conscious of how little it takes for the heat to get to an animal... Once I alert the manager, I go and stand by the car and try to comfort the dog or dogs. I always have bottled water with me and if their window is open enough I will give them water. I hate to see this, but see it all too often..

 

[whitby_2773]

i would try to get water to the dog. i ALWAYS have water in the car. if i had someone with me, i'd ask them to run into the store. i would call the police. and if nobody came - cops or owners - in 5 minutes from the time i saw the dog, i'd try the doors then break the window. i have ZERO QUALMS about this. i won't leave an animal in distress, period.

if you look online you'll find vet recommendations as to the temperature ranges within which it's safe to travel with pets in the car, and it's a remarkably narrow window - like - 62-68 deg. on a day when the temp is 90, the temp in the car will be well over 100, and especially if it's a dark colored car it can be like an oven. dogs will overheat (they get brain damage from being left in hot cars, even if they don't die) in as little as 15 mnutes, depending on size. an hour in a hot car will kill most dogs or do them permanent harm.

5 minutes is my 'window of return' for owner or intervention , then it's brick time. and then i'd wait for the owner so we could have a full and frank discussion. that's assuming i'm not driving their pet to the vet at that point.

and just FYI - studies have been done as to how much 'cracking the windows' cools the car - think - 'not at all'.

that dog was calling for help. not ok.

 

[*Danielle*]

You can use 411 or go to back in the store and ask for their phone book. Or, if you look around the parking lot they normally have the violator signs for parking and those will have the local police number. They can probably help you from there.

 

[jewelerman]

Leaving a dog in a hot car is flat out abuse.I would notify the manager and ask that they call animal control right away.If they dont then call yourself.

 

[newsboysgrl777]

This makes me SICK. I can't stand to see an animal suffer and yet, you see it all too frequently. (Heck, people are abusing their CHILDREN, so of course they'll think nothing of doing this to their pets

).

Whitby, I really, REALLY admire you...your stand on things is so clear and you don't tolerate any crap. I sooo want to be more like that...especially in this kind of situation. My question is, what in the world do you say when the owner FINALLY comes out, and you've broken his/her window??!! That's the thing I'm concerned about!! I mean, technically, it IS vandalism...even if for a good cause. :-\

Also, for those of you that have waited around for the owners to come out to their cars, what has been their reaction(s)? Are they ANGRY/ANNOYED or are they apologetic and like....sincerely SORRY??!! Or something else? (It just makes me feel like, do they REALIZE that what they did was wrong? NOT just that they 'got caught.')

I hate people sometimes...I really do.

 

[whitby_2773]

hi newsboygrl

my husband tim and i are involved in both showing dogs and in dog rescue, so i've really, REALLY had the opportunity to think this through. i've also been in the position of removing someone's pet that was being abused. i've also been involved with the removal of children when they were being abused.

i have never broken someone's window, tho i almost did once when they reemerged from the shop they were in. i said to them "i was about to break your window to help your dog who is in distress." they looked at me like i was a madwoman. but NBG, the thing is - who cares what they think of me? it's enough that they know there are people out there who will deface their car if they do this to their dog. if i actually did smash a window, i suppose i'd say "i broke your window to rescue your dog. here's my card, take it up with me as you see fit." and then i'd leave.

would we both feel uncomfortable? probably. i'm not a bully and i normally get along very well with people and am pretty live and let live, so i wouldn't love this. but so what? i don't care if i feel uncomfortable, i don't care if i have to defend my actions, and i dont care if i have to pay a fine. so what? my internal commitment is that i wont ignore an animal (especially dogs) in distress, and i am a very resolute sort of person.

so i suppose i'd just do it and deal with the ramifications as best i could.

 

[sba771]

I view my dog as my child and you aren''t supposed to leave young/small children in the car who can''t help themselves, why should a dog be any different? I would wait 3-5 minutes then call the non-emergency police number. I have become a crazy dog person and it brings me to tears when I hear about things like this.

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 7/27/2009 2:29:28 AM
Author: whitby_2773
hi newsboygrl


my husband tim and i are involved in both showing dogs and in dog rescue, so i''ve really, REALLY had the opportunity to think this through. i''ve also been in the position of removing someone''s pet that was being abused. i''ve also been involved with the removal of children when they were being abused.


i have never broken someone''s window, tho i almost did once when they reemerged from the shop they were in. i said to them ''i was about to break your window to help your dog who is in distress.'' they looked at me like i was a madwoman. but NBG, the thing is - who cares what they think of me? it''s enough that they know there are people out there who will deface their car if they do this to their dog. if i actually did smash a window, i suppose i''d say ''i broke your window to rescue your dog. here''s my card, take it up with me as you see fit.'' and then i''d leave.


would we both feel uncomfortable? probably. i''m not a bully and i normally get along very well with people and am pretty live and let live, so i wouldn''t love this. but so what? i don''t care if i feel uncomfortable, i don''t care if i have to defend my actions, and i dont care if i have to pay a fine. so what? my internal commitment is that i wont ignore an animal (especially dogs) in distress, and i am a very resolute sort of person.


so i suppose i''d just do it and deal with the ramifications as best i could.

You''re the best.

 

[bee*]

I''d definitely get the store to make an announcement and if the owner didn''t come, I''ll call the cops.

 

[steph72276]

I would call the non emergency police number right away. Here in the summer in FL would be so bad for a dog that they might not have that kind of time if the owners didn''t come out right after an announcement. I have actually never seen this in FL but did when we lived in GA. It is heartbreaking!

 

[decodelighted]

Somewhere like Ikea? I''d call the police or 311 or notify the store to make an announcement. I''ve seen this at the grocery store & waited until the person got back. Luckily it was only about 10 minutes & not a very hot day ... I still stared them down.

HOWEVER -- just yesterday my husband & I ran into a tiny convenience store where we buy max 5 items. Our pup was in the car which had had full AC seconds before. We were in the store less than five minutes when a woman RAN in screaming about "the dog in the car is going to DIE!" GAH! We all had heart attacks & the owner of the store invited our dog inside & DH went to get her & the whole thing settled down when she realized the windows HAD been open & that we''d literally just left the car & were on our way right back & that she was barking because she doesn''t like to be out of my sight ... not because she''d been there a long time. Normally I sit in the car with her but I''d hopped out to *PICK OUT A CANDY BAR* that''s the amount of time we''re talking about. Soooooooo ... though I don''t make a practice out of it I''ve been on the flip side & its not so fun. Think I''ll go back to waiting in the car with her & let DH pick out my candy bars. GAH!

 

[beau13]

"What would you do if you saw a dog in a hot car?"

Nothing! If I'd seen a hot guy in a hot car, that would be a different story!

 

[Catmom]

I had this happen at a Costco once. I sat for about 15 minutes to see if anyone was coming out but no one ever did so I went into the store to see if they would page the owner. They told me they couldn''t page but they would let me use the phone to call the police. I called the police and they came right out. I don''t know what happened after that because I had to leave, my food was melting.

 

[MonkeyPie]

Date: 7/27/2009 1:00:20 AM
Author: whitby_2773
i would call the police. and if nobody came - cops or owners - in 5 minutes from the time i saw the dog, i''d try the doors then break the window. i have ZERO QUALMS about this. i won''t leave an animal in distress, period.

Ditto this. I have no problem with breaking someones window when they were stupid enough to leave their poor pet in the hot car. It''s no different than leaving a child in there! They deserve to have to shell out for a new dang window. Grrr.

 

[Tuckins1]

Wait to see if the owner comes back, then, if they don''t... Call the police. It''s shameful to treat an animal like that.

 

[jet2ks]

We had this issue several times when I was working retail. Either someone would come in and report a dog in a car or one of the employees would see the dog when collecting shopping carts from the parking lot. Our policy was to page over the intercom, give the owner a couple minutes to fix the situation, then call the police. A couple of times, tickets were issued to owners. We had one incident where the police were unavailable immediately so one of our employees just went out to her own car, got a slim jim and popped the locks! (she used to do repos)

I also would not hesitate to smash someone''s window if a dog was in distress. They can come after me for the cost of the window if they wish, but I think the animal cruelty charge that would be filed might occupy more of their time.

 

[Amethyste]

Date: 7/27/2009 8:29:21 AM
Author: beau13
''What would you do if you saw a dog in a hot car?''

Nothing! If I''d seen a hot guy in a hot car, that would be a different story!

Hmmm? If you saw a dog in a hot car having heat exhaustion you just would walk by and do nothing?

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 7/27/2009 12:16:56 AM
Author:Lilac
DH and I went to Ikea today and on our way back to the car we heard loud barking. We got to our car and noticed there was a dog left alone in a car right near ours. The windows were cracked open, but not nearly enough, and it was soo humid and about 90 degrees outside. I almost started crying - I felt so bad for this poor dog, and I felt so helpless.


What do you do in this situation? We sat there for a few minutes - I got out of the car and walked around looking to see if anyone was around, but I assume the owner was in the store or something so I had no idea what to do. Eventually we had to leave for an appointment, but the whole day I''ve been thinking about this poor dog. I hope he/she is ok

I can''t understand how someone could just leave a dog in a car like that on such a hot day. Has anyone ever seen this before? What did you do? Is there anyone to call or is it just a situation where there''s not much you can do if you don''t see anyone around the car? I love dogs and I just can''t imagine doing something like this

The fact that it was at Ikea leads me to believe they weren''t just running into the store. I know I spend at least an hour there when I go. I would have gone inside and had customer service page the owners. I think Ikea usually has their own security guys there as well, that''s another option you have. Police/animal control are other alternatives. Usually the local police office/business line (NOT #911!) will transfer you to animal control. That''s where you should also call to report something like this to the police. This, while an emergency, is no a #911-worthy call.

 

[Lilac]

Hopefully this won''t happen again, but if it ever does I''ll call animal control and try to have the owners paged in the store. It''s possible they were in another store though - while that parking lot is used most often for Ikea, they did have access to other stores, so I don''t even know if they were in Ikea. If they weren''t, then hopefully it was just a case of them running in for a couple minutes and coming back out. Now I feel terrible that at the time I didn''t think of paging them or calling animal control

 

[VegasAngel]

I usually don''t see that around here especially in summer-it''s just too hot. I remember one time hearing an announcment in a store asking for the owner of the car to go & get their dog out of the car or they would break a window to get it. So, I would have told courtesy patrol or the customer service desk.

 

[stepcutgirl]

If it is a stand alone store I would go inside and ask for an announcement to be made. If it was a place with lots of stores like a mall I would call 911 and be ready and prepared to bust the window out of I saw the dog going bad quickly before they arrived.

I was at an UF football game one day when an announcement was made that the owners of a whatever car needed to come get their dog out of the hot car. This announcement was made 3 times before the next announcement which was "To the owners of blank car...congratulations your dog is ok...but you are going to need a new window". The crowd went wild in cheers!

I would have no issue what so ever in busting out someones window if I saw the dog was in distress. I''d also have little issue taking the dog and seeing it gets a good home as I believe most people who do this will do it again and next time there may no good samaritan around.

 

[Haven]

I always call the police non-emergency number and stick around.

I do not, however, make soothing noises to the dog because that is the wrong thing to do when a dog is distressed. We don''t want to reinforce the dog''s unstable state by comforting him while he''s in that state, that will just create a very unstable dog. I simply stand by and make sure that the situation is taken care of.

 

[atroop711]

I would stay waiting then if the owner doesn''t return within a few minutes I would call 411 to get some sort animal police there. I don''t have animals myself but leaving a dog in a hot car is abusive. How about for their punishment we leave the owner in the hot car for double the amt of time they left their pet? I don''t think they would like it at all

 

[Lilac]

Date: 7/27/2009 10:52:35 AM
Author: Haven
I always call the police non-emergency number and stick around.

I do not, however, make soothing noises to the dog because that is the wrong thing to do when a dog is distressed. We don''t want to reinforce the dog''s unstable state by comforting him while he''s in that state, that will just create a very unstable dog. I simply stand by and make sure that the situation is taken care of.

I wish I could have stayed around until the owner came back but we had a doctor''s appointment we couldn''t reschedule that we had been waiting months for so we stayed as long as we could but then had to go. I should have called animal control or made an announcement in the store though and hoped the owners were actually in THAT store (although if they parked in the lot and walked to another one then they wouldn''t have heard it). If it ever happens again (which I truly hope it never will) that''s what I''ll do.

 

[newsboysgrl777]

Date: 7/27/2009 10:50:20 AM
Author: stepcutgirl
I''d also have little issue taking the dog and seeing it gets a good home as I believe most people who do this will do it again and next time there may no good samaritan around.

This is so true...unfortunately.