Knowing me I'd have smashed the window. And made sure my face was caught on security camera in case someone wanted to call me out on it.

As we've seen in the latest running of the bulls news, even the "civilized" world has a long way to go.

Well, I wanted to smash the window. Considering the idiot who would take their dog with them to the store, and leave them in the car on a very hot day in JULY, could make for a volatile situation. (At least in MY case!)

I sent an email to the local tv station, their ''Investigation'' unit, with time of day, location, temperature, the security guard's name, along with the description of their ''policy'' (or really lack thereof). I wonder if I should call Animal Control to see if they went out on the call? I've asked them to investigate Target's policies which are asinine if you ask me.

We had the "dog in the hot car" also at Target situation too only in Florida were we take this as life threatening. I thought I would give the owner a chance to save their window before I rescued the puppy. I told customer service representative who promptly made an announcement on the intercom that there was a dog in distress in a beige Liberty SUV.

I stood at the door waiting to see if the announcement would flush anyone out. A man went out the door grumbling "people should mind the own GD business".

Well, That is what I should have done, make an announcement over the PA at the Customer Service desk. Obviously the security guard doesn't want to deal with an offensive offender! God forbid he should pretend to be any kind of authority figure. Today, in this heat a dog locked up in a car would be in a life-threatening situation.

The owner should be put into a winter coat, and locked in their car without air or water for at least the same amount of time they leave their pet. No, rather...add 2 minutes for every minute, just to give them time to think it over.

Like Cathy, I had the same thing only at a Walmart two years ago. They were more than great. They paged every few minutes and they called the police! When the owner came out after 15 minutes (I too stood watching), the car was being opened by the police and the "human" was arrested for cruelty. The temps that day went to 97. The Walmart employees were also standing ready with wet towels and ice to cool the poor pup, and the police took the dog to the station.

Jeez, folks. If you take the pets with, have two set of keys and leave the air/car running and lock the doors!

Better yet, leave your pet at home where they are probably happier to be anyway!

Good for the Walmart folks, and shame on the Target folks.

I'd have called the police.

Linda

Wow. That guard just didn't want to be bothered. I doubt seriously that it was a policy of Target. I would certainly let the guard's supervisor know that the guard was unwilling to do his job, which is to protect the customers of the store and to prevent crime, and this certainly was a crime.

It just pi$$es me off, and I don't use that word often, that people will do this kind of thing.

Good for the Walmart people, anyway.

Sally

I'm writing to Target this afternoon. Yes, someone should have been arrested. Next time, I'm calling 911, since that will bring police immediately, and a life was at stake. I wish I'd known better what to do in this situation, but should it happen again, I'll know.

911 will not show up for this. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but they won't. Animal Control or the local Humane Society is a better bet. If you have a camera phone, take a picture of the license plate. You could have gotten some ice chips and pushed them through the window until arrived.

Target is probably got some corporate liability issue, and the best thing for you to do is to email or write their media relations office.

We had to take Coal with us this afternoon when my daughter wanted to get some school supplies for her son that were priced at a penny a piece. We took his bottle of water from his crate with us. he travels in an air conditioned car but when the car is not running all the windows that operate go down( Window on front passenger does not operate correctly, will not go up and down , gets off the track).I have a fan that I turn on every few minutes to help cool him but with the windows down, and my car door open, we have done all we can, the dog was never left alone, at any time. daughter took him into Staples and the Manager wanted to pet him, said he was a very cute pup.

There were times when I was travelling with the WonderWeiner when I had to leave him in the vehicle. I had one of those "cold pads", that you soak in cold water so they have a cool place to lie, but there were times when the girls would go into a restaurant, order dinner, and I'd stay outside with the dog, they brought dinner out to me because there was no other option. It's the only downside I found to travelling with WW.

The Cavalier that Elery bought to run back and forth from his house to mine doesn't have air conditioning and frankly, most of the vehicles I've owned haven't had air conditioning. Amanda's vehicle doesn't have air conditioning and neither does Ashley's, so leaving the vehicle running with the air conditioner on isn't an option in my life. Incidentally, I've never lived in a house with air conditioning either, so I don't find it much of a hardship, my family, my animals and I are all used to it.

Other than in emergencies, it's best to leave the dog at home in the summer. We have had to stop a couple of times when we had Pancho with us, either on the way to Elery's or on the way back to my house, usually one of us stays outside with the dog and sweats in the air conditioned car along with the dog. We did leave him for a few minutes while we went into a Quizno's and bought sandwiches a couple of weeks ago. Since I'd never been to Quizno's, I went in, ordered my sandwich and then left Elery to pay for the food and wait for the order. I went back out to find an irate woman standing by the car berating me for leaving "that poor dog". It had been no more than three minutes and the dog was no hotter than I'd have been waiting outside with him. As I was explaining that, Elery came out with the sandwiches and promptly started feeding Pancho the turkey and cheese from one of them. That earned us another tangent about how the dog was too fat and we were abusing him by feeding him unhealthy foods. Elery finally had all he could take and told her to shove off. Pancho just growled at her, he LIKES junk food.

I guess I should have worked all day, then gone home and made supper before I made a three hour drive to Elery's, but somehow, I just didn't feel like it, picking something up on the way seemed like a much better idea.

So, be careful before you go breaking out car windows, I'd have had that woman arrested for malicious destruction of property, and be sure you know what you think you know.

Annie

Like Cathy said, pets or kids left in hot cars KILLS in Florida. I'm talking in a matter of minutes. Every few weeks, I turn on the news and there's some fool who left/forgot their kid(s) or dog in the car. It's serious stuff down here - 911 and jail time.

When I had my dog, I used to have 2 car keys with me whenever I had to leave him in the car: 1 to leave the car/air conditioning running while I ran an errand and the other to lock the car so no one would steal it! So my dog would sit in a nice air conditioned car while I did my thing, which was usually just a few minutes. But I would never leave him in a hot car, ever! My philosopy was to never leave him waiting any longer than I would a friend or family member while doing an errand.

I just called Police Dispatch and asked about the correct protocol for this. He said to call their number and they would connect me to right police department for the area of the city I was in. He also told me that 911 may come out, it just depends on where it is. Apparently, someone was dispatched to check out my ''complaint'', but he couldn't tell me what happened after that.

We don't travel anywhere with our dog left in the car, unless the outside temperatures are in the 50's. Otherwise, we drive straight through to our destination, using drive-through places for food if I haven't packed any. If we have to make a stop, the dog gets out of the car with us, with water on hand after we've found shade. One of us will stay with her. I've asked to bring her inside places before, and some businesses will welcome a pet who is traveling during the hot summer months. I don't understand people who wouldn't give a helpless animal/child a second thought by leaving them in a hot car.

I agree with a lot of this, but still have to caution you about what Annie said. Be sure you know what you think you know. In Annie's case, she did nothing wrong leaving Pancho for just a few minutes.
And I have read recently that it takes much longer for the temp inside a car to reach the danger point than what the ads on TV show. (Although, I am not sure if we are talking about a very tropical climate, like in Florida).
We travel with our little Dexter. We have a 30' air conditioned camper, which is fine for him, and we also havea truck camper with no air. However, that truck camper is so well insulated that it stays very comfortable inside for hours before it even starts to get slightly warm. I took a nap in it in the hot sun, and never got hot at all. We went to the beach last summer in our truck camper, and left Dexter in it while we went down to the beach. We knew that he would not be uncomfortable at all, but were concerned about people who thought that they knew that he must be dying in there. Nobody said anything, thankfully. We would never do anything to jeopardize his safety, any more than Annie would.
I know you all love animals and want them to be safe and confortable. But just make sure that, as Annie says, you "know what you think you know."
I hope I have not offended anybody here, that is certainly not my intent, and if I saw that an animal was in discomfort or at risk because somebody left it, I would be ther first to take action. But, just be careful not to assume that the doggy-mommies and daddies are bad. It truly might have been only a five minute wait for the doggy.

Sherry, I know you love Dexter like one of your kids, just as I did the WonderWeiner and Elery does Pancho. None of us would do anything to jeopardize the health or safety of any of them.

Leaving a dog in a hot car in Florida at 90F is different than leaving one in Michigan on a 60 degree day, but common sense will tell anyone that 90F in Michigan is too hot to leave your kids or your dog.

My point is that I walked into a shop, ordered (not even a wait) and walked back out. That earned me a rant from a women who JUST KNEW that I'd left the poor creature for too long. She was wrong.

As for that drive through, would it have been any cooler to sit in line at a drive through in an un-air conditioned car than it was parked in front of Quizno's in an un-air conditioned car? If there had been shade anywhere, I'd have been sitting in it WITH the dog, as it was we were both hot together. I figured if I could tolerate it for 3 minutes, he probably could too, plus we still had a two hour drive in an un-air conditioned car before we got to Elery's un-air conditioned house. Yeah, he has air conditioning but hasn't turned it on a single time this year. I just don't have any.

Annie

We had a timely article today about "dogs left in cars". Here is the insert about what to do (I think we would all follow these common sense tips); then the link to the entire article below.

If you see a dog left in a hot car

Humane officers say that in many situations it is fine to leave a dog in a car, but if you have any doubt about the temperature or whether the animal is in distress, don't hesitate to call. Zita Macinanti, director of humane law enforcement at the Washington Humane Society, says that rather than take a chance, "It's better to waste our time." If you don't know who to call, officers say it's okay to call 911. When you call, remember:

Leave contact information in case officers need more information; being able to contact you can make a difference in finding the car in time. They won't give out your name, so don't fear repercussions.

If you can't stay, try to find someone local, like a clerk in a nearby store, who can direct officers. If you can't leave a phone number, ask if you can provide the number of the store.

If the owner returns and the car leaves, let officers know so they can attend to other animals that need their help.

Associated Press

Here is a link that might be useful: Dogs in Cars

Mustangs, that's exactly what I was saying. React, but don't over react. If you feel there is a problem, call animal control or 911 or a security guard or whoever but before you start talking about taking a baseball bat to people's windows, you'd better be darned sure you know what you think you know.

Vigilante justice is rarely a good idea and will get people in more trouble than they think.

Annie

I think my "TARGET" would be the back window.....with a baseball bat !!! Diana55

Doesn't sound too smart to leave the car running with an animal in it! Suppose the dog gets agitated and knocks it into gear? Suppose a customer sees your car idling and reports it? It is illegal in many states to leave an unattended car idling FOR ANY REASON.

Not to mention the havoc idling wreaks on your car, and the cost in gas to run it and the AC when it's idling, and the possibility of it overheating.

I take my dog with me most of the time - he comes to work with me. So many times he is in the car. This morning, I took him to the beach for a walk, then I had to go to a postal service before work. He stayed in the car in front of the store with the windows down in the shade for 10 minutes while I sent some packages. I won't leave him in the heat and I won't leave him in a large parking lot.

Many times DH and I take him in the car while we have dinner out. It's usually dark and cool at night and he sleeps. He prefers to come with us and stay in the car than stay home so we humor him.

If it's summer and still light and warm out we don't take him.

I do worry also about over-zealous "vigilantes" but luckily, my dog is small, doesn't bark, and usually lies down and sleeps so noone sees him.

He is a pretty lucky darn dog. He has to stay home while I'm at ping pong though. We play for 3-5 hours and he doesn't like to come inside the club because of all the people and the noise. So he stays home on Sundays.

All this brings up a problem I have with my dog. I think I'll go post this over on Pets and see what they have to say but first I'll share it with you guys - maybe one of you knows what this is all about.

If I ask my dog if he wants to go for a ride in the car, he gets SO excited and runs to the door wagging his tail and it even looks like he's got a big ol grin goin on.

Then we get in the car and this dog starts shaking and shivering and whining and crying.

No matter where we go short trip - long trip, this is his routine. He wants to go really bad and gets in and freaks.

I wonder what's up with him? Anyone have any ideas?

Ok maybe I wont post this on pets... I'm skeered.

Shaun, good decision!!

Shaun, is this Ricky who gets separation anxiety?

Sounds like he is excited to go with you (opposed to staying home alone), but he doesn't actually like being in the car.

I would keep him out of the car. If you must take him, make sure he is very tired first (exercise him first - a tired dog is a good dog), then put a crate or carrying case in the car and put him in that with a favorite chew toy or treat. Then just take him on a short trip. Don't make a big deal out of the trip - keep calm and quiet so he doesn't get worked up. See how that works.

Then come back here and report!

Yes Gina, that's him! It's so weird though, when I'm unloading groceries, if I leave one of the doors open he'll jump in there and sit there waiting to go somewhere!

He begs to go with me to take Anthony to school and then he cries the whole way there and back.

I never had a dog that was so hard to deal with as this one.

Cathy - hahahhaha!

Shaun, does Ricky have a crate or a cage at home? If he does and he's "safe" in it, maybe you could take it, like Gina says, and then he'd feel safer in his crate in the car?

That's what Pancho does when he's tired or stressed, he curls up in his crate, it's his "den", and he likes to sleep in it when we are in motel rooms and other unfamiliar places.

Other than that, I agree with Gina, don't take him or ask him if he wants to go, just leave him home where he's happier, at least.

See, Gina, I could take WonderWiener and he was the same, he'd curl up on his cool mat and wait for me quietly. Pancho is a chihuahua and he just raises heck, you'd think he was going to tear the arm off anyone who even walks anywhere he can see them.

He's neurotic. And crabby....

Annie

Annie I used to have a crate for Ricky but he freaked each time we put him in it. We tried for over a year to get him to like it and feel like it was his space. He just hated it. Some dogs hate being crated, he's one of them, *lucky me* huh? NOT

Then we got him one of those metal play yard things and put his bed in that with his toys for when we had to leave him alone or at night when we went to bed.

Well he freaked out in that one night, pushing the entire metal thing into the living room with his nose and there was blood from cutting his nose all over the carpeting where he pushed it to.

He hates being contained in anything. It freaks him out completely so the vet told us to just not crate him or contain him in anything anymore.

Shaun, I think you already said it. If he hates being contained in anything, the car is just another container. As much as he begs to go, it doesn't sound like it's good for him to. Leaving him home would be the only option, if he's comfortable and safe there.

Wow Claire de luna! You are probably right! We always have to put the window down for him in the car and that "almost" makes him happy. He likes the window open. Never even thought about that.