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

[Lekde]

I was in this same situation last summer. It was a VERY hot ad humid day and some wingnut left their 2 dogs in the car with the windows ALL THE WAY CLOSED in the wally-world parking lot. They were so hot, you could see the desperation in their eyes. I went up to the window and one of the poor pooches starting scratching at the window to get out. I waited about 5-10 minutes and still no one came back to the dogs. I didn''t know how long they had been in there prior to me parking next to the car so in my eyes this is was a case of desperation.

I got on the horn with the loal police (non-911 number) and a K-9 unit came to the rescue of these two dogs in a matter of 5 minutes. The dogs ended up being pretty friendly and I hung with the cop and the dogs until the person came out of walmart. Wouldn''t you know it was 30 minutes later?!!!?!? 30 minutes!! Those dogs would have been dead!

Long story short, the owner of the dogs was ticked!! He was yelling and carrying on somethin awful. After the cop finally calmed him down from wanting to kill me, he fined and ticketed him.

 

[Haven]

Date: 7/27/2009 11:00:39 AM
Author: 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.

Sweetie--I didn''t mean to say that *you* should have stayed until the owner came out. And unfortunately, I''m guessing you will be confronted with this same situation again at some point in the future.

People do not care for their pets the way they should. It''s so horrible.

 

[lyra]

Around here, someone might have broken a window and rescued the dog, called the cops, or waited until the owner came back so they could be "educated". It''s a big deal here, lots of informed animal lovers. I would never leave a dog alone in a car for any reason in any weather, and don''t understand why people feel they need to bring their dog somewhere so it can sit in a car???

 

[loriken214]

Date: 7/27/2009 10:12:45 AM
Author: 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

Lilac,

Thank you for asking what to do!

Now, you''ll have an idea if you see this again.

Lori

 

[Cind11]

I would definitely go into the store and try to have the owner paged and then if that didn''t work I would call the police! About six years ago one of my neighbors left their Lab puppy outside with no shade and no bowl of water. They went out on their boat of all things! The dog died.

There was an article about it in the paper which said the dog basically cooked from the inside. After that the people moved. (It was a previously planned move) If they hadn''t moved, I would probably have given that woman a frosty reception anytime I saw her.

 

[jwaters]

Date: 7/27/2009 8:19:40 AM
Author: decodelighted
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!

Ya I''ve been in that situation too. I''ve driven with my pup from Miami to Denver (36 hours), Denver to Houston (16 hours) and on several camping trips through Colorado and Utah. There are times when, as the quoted poster, you get gas and run in to get a drink. That being said, every time I stopped I already get the dog out and run around for a few minutes. If we''ve ever stopped during the day for lunch we either get something to go or bring the dog out and tie her to a post outside with a bowl of water. I''ve had problems with that too with people thinking someone abandoned the dog. I can only recall one time when I left my pup in the car longer than 5 mins and that was to get dinner on one of those road trips somewhere in Texas and it was about 50 degrees outside. She may have been cold, but I don''t think she was going to get a heat stroke.

 

[DiamondFlame]

I'd think: "Smart move, driving that hot car. I mean look at him, he's such a dog!"

 

[tlh]

Call the cops. It is criminal here in AZ. In fact it takes only a few minutes for the inside of a car to reach 140* or more. Officers are equipped with temp guns, to shoot in the car to take the temperature, to use in prosecution. It is not only animals... but children that have been left in cars out here. It is sad.

 

[vip0802]

this is just awful to hear! especially in hot and humid weather, it''s animal abuse! i don''t think some people realize how hot a car can get in just a few minutes...even with the windows cracked. in some states, it''s actually illegal to leave an animal in the car.

Lilac, i''m sorry you had to witness this! if something like this happens again, you shouldn''t hesitate to call the police or animal control. also, your particular question was featured on ABC''s What Would You Do? documentary series. it''s a fabulous show and this clip is especially fitting for this situation:

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=6800375

 

[Lilac]

Date: 7/27/2009 12:27:49 PM
Author: Haven

Date: 7/27/2009 11:00:39 AM

Author: 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.

Sweetie--I didn''t mean to say that *you* should have stayed until the owner came out. And unfortunately, I''m guessing you will be confronted with this same situation again at some point in the future.

People do not care for their pets the way they should. It''s so horrible.

I know, I wasn''t offended by anything you said (but thank you for clarifying

) I think I just feel guilty about leaving and I just feel horrible that the whole thing happened and I didn''t know what to do. Now I do know so hopefully if this does happen again I''ll be sure to take the necessary steps to make sure the dog is ok and safe.

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Date: 7/27/2009 8:44:40 PM
Author: Lilac

Date: 7/27/2009 12:27:49 PM

Author: Haven

Date: 7/27/2009 11:00:39 AM


Author: 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.

Sweetie--I didn''t mean to say that *you* should have stayed until the owner came out. And unfortunately, I''m guessing you will be confronted with this same situation again at some point in the future.

People do not care for their pets the way they should. It''s so horrible.

I know, I wasn''t offended by anything you said (but thank you for clarifying

) I think I just feel guilty about leaving and I just feel horrible that the whole thing happened and I didn''t know what to do. Now I do know so hopefully if this does happen again I''ll be sure to take the necessary steps to make sure the dog is ok and safe.

Just wanted to say please don''t feel guilty Lilac! Sorry if I made you feel that way, I wasn''t trying to.

 

[Lilac]

Date: 7/27/2009 8:51:54 PM
Author: SarahLovesJS

Date: 7/27/2009 8:44:40 PM

Author: Lilac

Date: 7/27/2009 12:27:49 PM

Author: Haven

Date: 7/27/2009 11:00:39 AM

Author: 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.

Sweetie--I didn''t mean to say that *you* should have stayed until the owner came out. And unfortunately, I''m guessing you will be confronted with this same situation again at some point in the future.

People do not care for their pets the way they should. It''s so horrible.

I know, I wasn''t offended by anything you said (but thank you for clarifying

) I think I just feel guilty about leaving and I just feel horrible that the whole thing happened and I didn''t know what to do. Now I do know so hopefully if this does happen again I''ll be sure to take the necessary steps to make sure the dog is ok and safe.

Just wanted to say please don''t feel guilty Lilac! Sorry if I made you feel that way, I wasn''t trying to.

No, don''t worry, you didn''t! I feel guilty because I wish I had known what to do at the time and I hate the idea of a dog suffering in the heat of a car. It wasn''t anything you said. It was just the situation itself.

 

[Circe]

You''ve gotten a lot of good answers - so, dittoing Whitby & co., and stopping to say that you''re a good person for, a) noticing, b) being concerned, and c) planning ahead for the next time that you encounter this situation, and for putting it into more people''s heads via this post. Don''t feel guilty - now you have a plan of action for the future.

 

[whitby_2773]

lilac - i thought of you yesterday...

i''d just been to our local seafood shop and was walking back to the car when i saw a dog, clearly very angry and barking like mad in a car. one window was reasonably open - about 5" - but the dog (small, some sort of terrier mix) was tied by a lead to the gear stick. so - altho he could approach the somewhat open window, he couldn''t quite reach it. he was barking madly and snarling at anyone who approached the car. i saw an elderly couple near the car, and thought how much i just wanted to ignore this situation and go home. but instead i took a deep breath, thought of this thread and the whole concept of practicing what one preaches, and said...

"is this your dog?"

but no, not their dog. they thought the dog and the car belonged to someone in the restaurant which they were entering. so i followed them in and asked the maitre d'' to ask if the car out front with the dog in it belonged to anyone in the restaurant.

and it did - to a gentleman who looked to be around 70+ who was sitting at the bar having a beer. probably because it was 90 deg out and high humidity - the sort of weather where you sweat just walking from supermarket to car.

i told him that his dog was distressed, that dogs couldn''t be left in cars in this sort of weather, and that cracking the window didn''t make any appreciable difference to the internal temp of the car.

he downed the rest of his beer and said "i can''t argue with you - you''re right. and he''s my best friend." he then walked out the door to his car.

i suggested, as respectfully as i could, that if his dog was his best friend, he might like to treat him a little better

so there you go, lilac - between us, you and i did a good thing yesterday. you raised my awareness, which has a tendency to become inconvenient, and i was johnny on the spot for you this time when you couldn''t be.

so - this is a perfect example of why these threads are precious. i believe the dog in question thanks us both.

 

[Samantha Red]

Good for you Whitby - I myself have fetched an old couple out of our local pub in the village because their dogs were distressed in the car - I cannot believe the stupidity of some people. I am totally neurotic about leaving our dogs in the dog, even when the sun is out in Winter. We recently had a terrible case when we had some unseasonably hot weather a few weeks ago. A dog section police officer left two police dogs, german shepherds, in a car in 90 degrees and they both died. He is being prosecuted and it just broke my heart to hear of it.

We go to watch three day events, particularly Burleigh and they have signs all around to say they will break into cars without notification if dogs are left in cars in hot weather- something I fully support.

 

[Lilac]

Date: 7/29/2009 2:52:16 PM
Author: whitby_2773
lilac - i thought of you yesterday...

i''d just been to our local seafood shop and was walking back to the car when i saw a dog, clearly very angry and barking like mad in a car. one window was reasonably open - about 5'' - but the dog (small, some sort of terrier mix) was tied by a lead to the gear stick. so - altho he could approach the somewhat open window, he couldn''t quite reach it. he was barking madly and snarling at anyone who approached the car. i saw an elderly couple near the car, and thought how much i just wanted to ignore this situation and go home. but instead i took a deep breath, thought of this thread and the whole concept of practicing what one preaches, and said...

''is this your dog?''

but no, not their dog. they thought the dog and the car belonged to someone in the restaurant which they were entering. so i followed them in and asked the maitre d'' to ask if the car out front with the dog in it belonged to anyone in the restaurant.

and it did - to a gentleman who looked to be around 70+ who was sitting at the bar having a beer. probably because it was 90 deg out and high humidity - the sort of weather where you sweat just walking from supermarket to car.

i told him that his dog was distressed, that dogs couldn''t be left in cars in this sort of weather, and that cracking the window didn''t make any appreciable difference to the internal temp of the car.

he downed the rest of his beer and said ''i can''t argue with you - you''re right. and he''s my best friend.'' he then walked out the door to his car.

i suggested, as respectfully as i could, that if his dog was his best friend, he might like to treat him a little better

so there you go, lilac - between us, you and i did a good thing yesterday. you raised my awareness, which has a tendency to become inconvenient, and i was johnny on the spot for you this time when you couldn''t be.

so - this is a perfect example of why these threads are precious. i believe the dog in question thanks us both.

Whitby - I want to thank you so much for posting this story. Now I''m really happy I started this thread, because first of all now I have learned what to do if I come across this situation again, and second of all I''m happy that this may have brought this issue to the attention of others. I''m glad that dog was ok - and it''s so commendable that you took that time to make sure he was ok and you found the owner. Thank you for making me feel better about my own actions and helping to educate me on how to handle the situation next time.

 

[Mara]

i have a friend who would always take her dog places with her only to leave him in the car if he couldn't come in. i was like... what is the point of this? isnt he more comfy at home? plus you just never know re temps in the car. she said she only did it on cool days but still. plus i am afraid someone will break into my car and steal my dog, she is too cute for words and so friendly.

the few times i have left her in the car its typically when she is with me for another reason and i just HAVE to stop at the store to get a milk or a fish or something for dinner and it's out of the way to come back. i always park in shade and crack the windows and then i practically run into the store and do my stuff and come out. i feel so guilty the whole time and always when i come out she is like do do de doo hanging out. but if it's a super hot day i won't even attempt it. i can't imagine leaving my dog in a car in a 90 degree day to go to IKEA. hello even buying one thing there takes like 30 min.

i would have gone into the store and told the manager to put out a PA over the system to tell whoever left their dog in the car to get their ass outside.

 

[radiantquest]

I would walk back into the store and go to customer service. I would ask that they page whoever left their dog in the car that it is almost dead from the heat. I bet that would get their butts moving out of the store to give the dog some air.

I might also try to break into the car and roll down the window some more. I wouldn''t even care if a cop came. I would gladly take a ticket which I doubt I would get for helping the poor pup.