I got a harsh reminder of a very important lesson

[Doberluv]

No, he should not ever be allowed to own dogs. What an idiot! And even with all the talk, the newspaper warnings. The information is SO out there. It gets so hot in cars so easily that even with windows opened a little bit, it's too hot and dangerous. I avoid taking my dogs in the car at all, anywhere in the summer unless I must and won't leave them in the parked car at all, I'm so paranoid. Going to Seattle, I stop at a big park and take them with me into the park rest rooms so I can go wee wee. That's about half the way. Other than that it's one gas fill-up and maybe a stop at a drive through for a sandwich.

Those poor dogs and I am so sorry for the shop owner, you and everyone else who witnessed this tragedy.

 

[bubbatd]

Please don't fault me with Ollie folks . He never pants to the point his tongue is hanging out in the car .

 

[smkie]

Grammy I take my dogs everywhere with me. You know that. It just isn't that hard to carry two sets of keys. IF you have to go in the gas station then stay with one eye on the car...park where you can be seen. I have done this for years. YOu never know what can happen inside of a store. IF i can't see my car, i don't go in. IF i pump my gas I have to take Victor out with me. I kid you not when i say even a slightly warm car is a no go. He will bawl like he is being thrown into the gates of hell. AT Mary's advanced age and with her personal temp gauge off a bit it is a must for her too. I always carry at least a gallon of water in the car as well. Once when i had a car with no ac and got stopped in a traffic jam i am pretty sure it saved me and Victor...i soaked us both down. IT is so easy to take a few precautions. I don't ever want to be that kind of sorry.

People need to remember...if you think about heat and how it moves this makes a lot of sense. CRacked windows do not let air in..the force of the hot air pushes it away. On a ninety degree day add 30 degrees and that's 120..plus oven like conditions.

 

[bubbatd]

Believe me I understand Smkie / I'm too trusting .... pumping gas I'm there the whole time and windows are down all the way . Ollie would never jump out !

 

[PixieSticksandTricks]

That is so sad and sickening that a person could be so ignorant. I can't beleive he asked the shop owner to replace his window! What a stupid jerk!

 

[mjb]

Every summer down here in Florida, it seems that a child dies in a car this way, too. There have been 2 this summer that I've heard about. I'm sure its happened some with dogs, too, that have not been on the news.

It seems with the babies, it's dads who are not the ones who usually drop off at daycare, the baby falls asleep strapped in their seat in the back seat, and the dad starts about his usual routine and forgets the baby.

With my dog, taking him is not an often enough habit that I feel comfortable running in anywhere while he's sitting in the car. I've heard that people run into someone while they're in the store and start talking and they forget the dog was left in the car.

 

[drmom777]

I cant leave mine in the car anyway. Mini likes to hit buttons. She rolls down windows, honks the horn and turns on the emergency flashers. So, even in cool weather I can't do it.

 

[bubbatd]

That's a riot !!! I have to lock windows when Hunter's in the car !

 

[Bailey08]

I don't like to think about it, but that happened to our family dog when I was young. I found her. My parents thought they'd taken reasonable precautions...

I am very careful with Bailey. I never, ever want that to happen again.

 

[bubbatd]

Oh Bailey ! That's so sad for you !

 

[mjb]

Oh, that must have been a sad time in your childhood!

I almost had heart failure several weeks ago. Spanky rode somewhere with my husband. They had been home for over an hour, and it just dawned on me that I had not heard Spanky moving around the house since they had gotten home.

I was upstairs, and I started running downstairs, yelling had anyone seen Spanky, and my heart about to pound out of my chest.

Spanky usually rides in the backseat, and I can imagine my husband getting a business call on his blackberry or something and forgetting Spanky was in the car. I was so scared!

Spanky was fine and had been curled up asleep on the floor next to my husband who was on the couch until he heard my carrying on. He came walking towards me with a most confused look, asking what the fuss was all about!

When we had our babies, cars didn't have airbags, and our babies were buckled in the front seat. It's hard to forget a baby who is sitting right next to you.

Spanky used to always ride in the front seat, but I decided it was safer in the back seat. If I really think we're absent-minded enough, he might be safer in the front!!!!

 

[corgi_love]

That is so sad I wish he had gotten into more trouble.

Last summer, in hot 100+ Cali degree weather, some 15-16 year old left her dog in her car with the windows all the way down near one of the busiest streets and I witnessed the dog JUMP out and run around the parking lot- took about 7 of us to round him up, but the idiot who caught him put him back in her car. So I gave the girl about 10 minutes to come get the dog and I was dailing animal control when she came out so I let her know what had happened and that it's even hotter for the dog in the car, that it could've died in there, and she called me a b*tch and drove off! I yelled I'd rather be a b*tch than kill my dog! Some people are just idiots and shouldn't have pets.

 

[dogbuddy]

I was at the beach and while walking to the beach stumbled upon a car with 3 dead dogs in it 2 chihuahuas and 1 lab. it was over 100 degrees today , the car was parked in the sun and the windows were shut.

the guy who owned the shop in front of which the car was parked broke one of the windows to see if we could save the dogs but.. it was too late. the car had been parked there for over an hour and he didn't see the dogs inside.

the owner arrived around the same time animal control arrived.. he cried and was sad.. but its common knowledge in this city to NEVER leave your dog in the car, the city is very dog friendly so you can take them everywhere but its WAY to hot to leave them in the car for ANY period of them.

he said that when he left the dogs, the storefront shaded the car.. but when i arrived, the car was 100% in the heat.

THose poor dogs they were healthy dogs that didn't deserve a miserably death like that

and the owner even asked the shop owner to pay for the window that he broke! but the animal control people told him to shut up, he got fined for neglect for each dog..

what a very stupid dog owner that guy is!!!!! i can't believe there are people like this, what a shame!

poor dogs

 

[Criosphynx]

Every summer down here in Florida, it seems that a child dies in a car this way, too. There have been 2 this summer that I've heard about. I'm sure its happened some with dogs, too, that have not been on the news.

It seems with the babies, it's dads who are not the ones who usually drop off at daycare, the baby falls asleep strapped in their seat in the back seat, and the dad starts about his usual routine and forgets the baby.

With my dog, taking him is not an often enough habit that I feel comfortable running in anywhere while he's sitting in the car. I've heard that people run into someone while they're in the store and start talking and they forget the dog was left in the car.

This idea terrifies me. I have horendous memory issues.

I make sure that if I take a dog with me that I put my purse in the backseat with the dog so that I can't forget they are there.(if Im taking a dog to work for the day) I will always remember my purse because its habit and I need it.

Iam one of those that will forget that I'm going som'where else and drive 90% of the way to work (or home) instead. I feel so bad for the dads that leave their kids in the car on accident..forgeting som'thing VERY important and just switching to autopilot is som'thing I can completely relate to.

 

[Doberluv]

Years ago when the kids were younger, we were about to go to the mall which was about a 20 minute to 1/2 hr. drive away. We had a big, full sized Chevy van and the side door was opened while everyone was getting in and running back into the house for a forgotten item etc. It was a hot, summer day and we pulled into the parking lot of the mall. My son just happened to walk around the seat and into the far back of the van. (I think to retrieve his Nija turtle) He exclaimed, "Ajax is in the car!" Ajax, our GSD had snuck in as a stow-a-way when no one was looking. He was quiet as a church mouse and if my son hadn't just happened to go in the back of the van, he would surely have died. So, it is a good idea to check that that doesn't happen if you have a dog that likes going in the car.

Another time I almost forgot Lyric. We returned from somewhere and I went in the house. He was so quiet in the car and would lie down....I'd forget he was even there. But after just about 2 or 3 minutes I realized he wasn't in the house with the other dogs. (the other dogs had stayed home) He DID have a presence about him so I noticed right away that he was MIA. I swore and ran out to the car. So, another thing to watch out for is senility. That really freaked me out about myself. How could I?

I can see how accidents can happen. But I can't see how, in this day and age with all the stuff in the media etc...someone can think leaving a dog in a car with the windows cracked open a little bit or not at all is safe. If they know their dog is in the car, they must have heard that leaving the car parked in the heat is deadly dangerous.

 

[sammgirl]

Oh, how horrifying to have to come upon that sight. I think I would have cried.

 

[Vintage Boxers]

Cuff him and book him

 

[Kim M]

OMG makes me SICK!!! I'd be freaking out on that jerk!

We have a place here called "The Beach" (it is a waterpark) and one time there was a dog in the back of a pick up truck with a cap on it. The dog was with all this luggage and stuff and had very little room. It was sunny and HOT! I put my hand in the little opening and it was HOT in there! The car was from Michigan (I live in OH) so I assume they were on their way home from a vacation or this was their vacation and they decided they wanted to go to a waterpark but had no place to leave the dog but in the truck. I was PISSED! Think about it, how long do you stay at a water park??? I went to tell security but someone had beat me to it and they were already at the car when I looked back. IDIOTS! I am just glad someone saw it before it was too late.

 

[tdmcintyre]

That's so sad

 

[mrose_s]

oh god that is the saddest thing.