Tinker....I had a problem so bad that I had to remove all the HWF and subfloor on the first floor. Trust me, if you can smell it, even faintly, the animals will continue to use that spot. My house had a virtual Noah's Ark living here..you couldn't be in the house more than a few minutes before needing to leave. I had to remove the HWF and subfloor, had the basement beams professionally sandblasted, soaked with Kennel Odor Eliminator (KOE) by Thornell, then sealed with polyeurthene...and it did the trick. Not trying to scare the bejeezus out of you, but I learned that urine has ammonia salts that last long after the urine has dried...and every time it gets damp, the salts are reactivated. That's why it smells bad when it's humid. You might start with KOE in the carpet, but be prepared for it to also in the subfloor. So getting rid of the carpet and treating the floor is likely your long term solution. And trust me, although KOE is more expensive than what you can get at Home Depot or Pets R Us, it's what professional kennels use...and it was worth its weight in gold. Good luck! Jen

I love dogs, but I'm not sure this law makes sense. What if a person lives in an RV touring the country? Their RV has air conditioning and heating in it and they have no other place to leave their pets. I know single people who live this way and their pets have great lives traveling with their owners. No one should leave their pet in any unsafe condition - be it an automobile or home. This law now means we can't take our dogs camping with us because we can't leave them unattended at a camp site and can't leave them in the car regardless of the conditions. So, instead of having the times of their lives out hiking with us and swimming in the lakes and streams, they are penned up in a bording kennel where they may or may not get the best care. It's tough for those of us who take our dogs everywhere, because there are fewer and fewer places that allow pets - at least in the US. How about allowing pets in more places so owners don't have to leave them in vehicles?? How about more pet friendly stores and restaurants? But no . . . let's just restrict, restrict, restrict so those dogs stay at home or in bording kennels and get less and less REAL exercise and care.

I rarely post on GW but this is a subject that upsets me greatly! In fact, I just wrote myself a note to call our vet Tuesday morning and ask if they have some type of letter/note/notice that I can copy and carry copies in both of our vehicles. Both my husband and I have no qualms about contacting store security, the cops, or asking that something be announced over a store loudspeaker. A couple years ago we were on our way home from Reno and stopped at a small casino to have breakfast. It was already near 100* at about noon. There were two dogs in the back of a truck. There was a bowl of water but both dogs were acting really strangely. One kept trying to get up and kept falling over. The other dog wasn't moving and seemed as if he/she could barely move it's eyes and couldn't seem to lift it's head. My husband tried to open it but it was locked. He ran into the casino and got security, who in turn made an announcement over their loudspeaker. The one security guard who had come out was getting ready to smash the window when the owners came out. When they opened the rear hatch you could feel the heat rolling out. They said they had only been inside less than 10 minutes. Yeah right! It was horrible! Another related thought that bothers both of us are people who leave their dogs in the bed of their pickup trucks in hot weather, usually tethered. Unfortunately, this isn't addressed very often. The poor things can't get off the hot metal of the truck beds. Don't the owners realize that the pads of their feet or their bellies burn if they try to lay down? I can't tell you how many times I've asked the driver to please put their hand down on the metal of the truck bed and tell me it's cool. Even lined truck beds are blistering hot. I think that some of the people were honestly surprised at how hot those beds were and yet others didn't seem to care. We don't own our car...our dog does. She lets us drive her around in it tho. And she is quite the pouter if she can't go with me/us. Shoot, that dog knows we're going somewhere before we even think about it. Never does she get to go if it's hot outside and I/we are going to be out of the car. There really isn't any such thing as running into a store "for just a minute". Our girl is about 110 lbs. of GS and Chow (and we figure there's also a little bit of horse in the mix) and it's easy for her to get overheated. I'm so sick of people like the Paris Hiltons and others that treat dogs as a fashion accessory/statement instead of a feeling, loving, hurting, suffering living thing. Sorry, had to throw that in as it's also a major pet peeve of mine. If our vet has anything that I can copy here I'll post it. If not then maybe between us we can come up with something that gets the point across to those idiots. Jenna

That's what I'd recommend also. You may also want to use the product below on your dog.........and be sure to have her vet checked. Her frequent urination could be due to a urinary infection. If the problem is age related they now have success with meds for incontinence. Here is a link that might be useful: diapers