I arrived at work yesterday morning to big brown eyes staring at me from the car that I had parked next to. A gorgeous boxer was seated politely, apparently waiting for her owner to return. All four windows were cracked a couple of inches, and I greeted her back with a bright “Morning pup!” and went along my way up to my office. As the morning went on, I noted that the car was still parked in the parking lot. I was making mental notes of what the temperature was outside, and feeling bad that the bored and lonely dog just had to sit there all morning. Around lunchtime, as the car was still parked there, I was consistently growing more nervous. Even though the windows were cracked, the temperature was creeping into the 70s, and I knew that the beautiful dog could not stay in that car all day. Not knowing whom the pup belonged to, I had no choice but to call the authorities and ask them to come over. They arrived late in the afternoon and tracked down the owner of the dog. Surprisingly, they apparently determined that, although this was far from ideal conditions for the dog, it wasn’t so hot in the car that the dog was in any immanent danger, and the authorities left the lot, and the owner returned to work until 4pm. Although they determined that the dog’s immediate health was not in danger, the poor dog sat there, in an extremely warm car for over 8 hours with no toys, no one to play with, and nothing to do but sit there and bake. I was appalled. Apparently the girl had a good enough excuse for the authorities to allow the dog to suffer for the entire day.
I understand, as a dog Mom of 2, and sometimes more, that things come up… And problems always seem to surface at the most inopportune times. We have all left our dog an hour or two more than expected at home, and felt miserable about it, or, as I recently did, forgot a dog’s birthday until the next day. Things always happen, and I am sure that your dog understands; that is what is so great about dogs, they always forgive you, and they always seem to forget all the accidental parenting that you might do. However, when these problems arise, or something comes up, and it is putting a dog’s health in danger, I do not believe that there is an excuse. I don’t know what the situation was with the dog in the car yesterday, but it simply needed to be avoided. There is absolutely no excuse for that.
I have said it before and I will say it again, we can’t blame people for what they don’t know. Even though I completely consider this common sense, I will share it all with you, and hope that you pass it along to EVERYONE you know….
- Hundreds of dogs DIE every year in parked cars that get too hot. These are avoidable deaths.
- Hundreds of dogs that live through the heat suffer from permanent brain damage as a result of sitting in a hot car.
- The temperature inside a car can raise 30 degrees or more higher than the temperature outside because of the lack of air, and magnifying windows.
- Cracking the windows does NOT make it ok to leave your dog in a car on a hot day, and only slightly decreases the temperature.
- Don’t assume that because it is moderately warm outside (50s and 60s) that it is ok to leave your dog in a car. That temperature can quickly rise to 70s and 80s or more.
- Always think ahead when you are leaving your dog in a car, even if you think you are only going to be a “couple of minutes”. Things come up, and that small amount of time can turn into an hour. One hour can be deadly for your best friend.
- Leaving your dog in a car all day long while you are at work is unacceptable, regardless of the temperature. Have a backup plan.
- IF you see a dog in a car on a warm day, assess the situation and call the appropriate parties if necessary.
- ALWAYS make sure your dog has plenty of fresh cool water, even on cool days!
Please visit mydogiscool.com for more information and SPREAD THE WORD!!!
www.packlife.org
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