How to Help a Dog Locked in a Car
Published July 18, 2011
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It’s probably obvious to most of us that dogs shouldn’t be left in cars in 90 degree heat, but what about on a regular warm day, when it’s cool in the shade?
You’ll crack the windows for Fido and everything will be fine … there’s a breeze coming in, you’re not parked in direct sun. No problem, right?
WRONG! A car traps the heat of the sun like a greenhouse, even when parked in the shade, even with the windows cracked.
A recent study illustrates some scary numbers; on days where the temperature ranged between 72 and 96 degrees, a car's internal temperature (regardless of the outside temperature) could be raised by an average of 40 degrees within a half hour, regardless of the windows being cracked or not.
Cracking the windows did nothing to slow the heat-up. That’s eye opening stuff.
I’m an absolute terrorist when it comes to dogs in locked cars.
The most recent case was in a grocery store parking lot last summer. The black dog was in a truck parked in direct sun, and he looked very uncomfortable.
I watched for a few minutes just to make sure that the owner wasn’t doing an in-and-out trip to the store (still very unsafe), and then I called the non-emergency police number. The grocery store made an announcement about the dog in the car, and I watched people look around tsk-tsking, trying to identify the idiot.
In the meantime I wrote a note telling the owner of the car that the police were on the way, and that he had put his dog in a very dangerous situation. Over twenty minutes had passed by this point and I was unhinged by the dog’s obvious discomfort. It was hot out, but I wasn’t ready to commit an act of vigilante justice and break the windows, particularly because the police were on the way.
The car’s owner finally emerged over a half hour after I’d initially spotted the dog. I made my way over to him, not sure of how I could convey my anger without getting beat up or shot, but he grabbed the note off his windshield and sped off before I reached him.
The police car pulled in the other entry way as the truck exited, and even though I was able to give the license plate number and his general direction, nothing could be done. Score one for the idiot.
MyDogisCool.com is doing a great job raising awareness about the dangers of leaving dogs in hot cars. I’ve used their flyers on cars around town on days when the risk of overheating wasn’t as great.
On hot days I skip the flyer and go right to the non-emergency police number. In my area they understand the danger of leaving a dog locked in the car, and will break in and ticket if necessary. I’ll borrow a line from the government: if you see something, say something. You might be that dog’s only advocate.
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Comments (38)
I love my three dogs who are rescued animals but I do have a comment. Why don't people care as much about helpless children who are abused and/or killed on a daily basis? The recent death of a nine year old is a perfect example of neglect. If anything looks strange or out of the ordinary, call for help. What harm can that do? So someone yells at you or accuses you of being a busy body, who cares?
What do you do when a cop tries to make you lock your dogs in your vehicle?
I'm a truck driver. On July 13, 2011, I parked at a truck stop in Dallas TX. The temperature was over 110 degrees, and there was a heat advisory. I left my truck's engine running so the AC would keep the truck cool. As I was getting ready to go in the truck stop, a Dallas City Marshall pulled in front of my truck and tried to make me shut the engine off. I told him I had my dogs with me and that they could die from the heat. His EXACT word were "It doesn't matter" before he wrote me a $500 ticket for idling. I've contacted the City Marshall's office, the Dallas court house, the Dallas SPCA, Dallas TV news stations, the Dallas Mayor's office, and the TX Governor's office about this. The Marshall's office said there's nothing they could do about it. The court house supervisor said it's against the law to idle a truck, so even though I had my dogs with me, the ticket stands. The Dallas SPCA said they have no authority over law enforcement, so there's nothing they can do about it. Dallas news stations are either too afraid of making waves, or don't feel animal cruelty is 'news worthy'. The Mayor and Governor will not reply to me about this issue.
So now what? How is someone supposed to protect their animals against animal cruelty when it's the ones that are supposed to be helping protect animals that are trying to create a situation where an animal is in danger, and none of the city officials will get involved?
I live in Florida,If I saw a dog that looked that hot I would probably just break the window and take the dog.
Our local grocery store has a policy NOT to make announcements when alerted about dogs left in cars/at heat-risk, as I have discovered.
This article is prompting me to contact the store, write letters to the editor about their policy, anything I can do to change their hands-off approach.
I had my dog in my truck with the windows cracked when it was 60 degrees and *cloudy*.... This nut jobber hunts me down and attempts to berate me in the store. Fortunately, she humiliated herself by looking confused when I asked her *how* the temperature in the truck was going to rise when there was no sun.... Get a grip people!
What you do as a parent or pet-owner in public is seen and accepted by small chidren who look up to adults for what is okay and not okay behavior. Your actions in public do matter and do speak louder than words ever could. Please consider your actions, as little eyes are always watching and learning. Leaving a child or pet locked in a car is an irresponsible act, no matter what the temperature...but you already know that don't you?!
You break my window and I'll break your arm.