I don't have a flyer. You're dealing with 99.99% of people who think their dogs will be okay. It's a different mentality for the most part.

Here's what I do when I see a dog in a car on a warm or hot day (because this ticks me off so much!!!) ... I call the police and tell them that I think a baby is alone in a car, and I'm sure it's really HOT inside the car! I'm not quite sure if it's a baby or a dog I see, y'know. I can't see clearly through the vehicle window from where I am.

Story time: One time, I saw a dog inside a car on a warm day. I knew it was pretty darned HOT inside the car. The car was parked in a small lot where there were just two businesses. I went into the first one, a party store, and asked the store to announce that there seems to be a problem with a car in the parking lot (gave the make, model). No response to the announcement--no one peeked out the store's window either.

Then I went into the other business which was a dental office and I "announced" to everyone in the waiting room that there was a problem with a car in the parking lot and the owner might want to check--again, I gave the make and model number. I asked the receptionist to please go back to whomever was in the dental chairs and ask if that patient had a car of that make and model. Bottom line is NO ONE responded in either place saying the car was theirs. They blew me off.

I called the cops and gave them the baby story. Let the cops deal with the idiot. The cops will come out if there is a baby in the car, but not if you report that there is a dog in the car. Once the cops get there and see it's a dog, they are duty-bound in my neck of the woods to remedy the situation and cite the owner of the vehicle.

Last week I parked next to a car with a large poodle in it. Windows cracked. Between 75-80 degrees outside. It took me 5 minutes to run in and out of the store, and the dog was still there.

I went into CVS and asked if anyone left their dog in a Honda CRX. A woman said yes; I told her I was a vet and every summer I treat dogs for heat stroke because they are left in cars. Cracked windows don't help; cars can get 20 degrees hotter than outside temperature; dogs die. I was very friendly and was offering free advice (which people may take from a doctor.)

The lady thanked me, didn't realize, thanked me again and went off to her car and dog in the opposite direction of the dog in the car next to mine..

I went into Dunkin Donuts and asked the same question. A man was bringing breakfast to his 2 children in shop. I went through the same thing (telling him I was a vet, etc, very politely friendly) and he walked away from me. I asked him not to walk away, I was trying to give him information for the health of his dog, surely he doesn't want to see his dog get sick.

He told me to mind my own business.

So I turned to his children and said, "Tell daddy not to leave the dog in the car. It's not safe."

The man got belligerent and told me not to talk to his children.

I was getting mad and started to burn my bridges. I looked at the kids and said, "Don't let Daddy leave the dog in the car. The dog may die and that would be terrible."

The man went ape&h!t and I walked away. (I know. I am bad.)

As I was getting into my car, the man with the kids drove by in a different car with a different dog and called me a "f'ing bi!ch."

By that time the idiot that was parked next to me finally returned to his car. I had left a polite note on his car about me being a vet and how I treat dogs with heatstroke because they are left in cars, yada, yada.

So basically there were two other morons that left their dogs in their cars while I was trying to find one owner.

I will just call the police next time and let them abuse the police officer.

And no, I am not a vet. I play one in car parking lots in the summer.

I know. I wonder if they ever think of what it would be like to sit inside a sauna with a fur coat on and not be able to even sweat and depend on their tongues hanging out to cool their whole body? A parked car in summer is little more than a solar oven. It's that simple.

I'd like to ask them if they would sit in the car without air conditioning, or if they would feel comfortable doing that to their kids.

MOst people you could swear are just plain idiots who do this. And then there are those ( certified idiots) who leave babies in a car on a hot day. Bad enuff at any time.What is the matter with these people. Didn't their brain develop or what?

I've always wondered why someone who is going out shopping is going to take their dog along anyhow. I knew someone who actually had a dog die in her car from being left in while she ran into a store. Some people honestly don't think much of it and are truly upset when their dog is dead in the car when they return. I feel bad for them but what irks me is the efforts over the years that have targeted educating people yet they still don't get it. And the people who act all offended like their pride is worth more than their dog's life when they are called out on it.

My local PD does respond to calls about dogs in cars and will break windows if the dog shows signs of distress. Animal cruelty is against the law. If the PD in your area doesn't respond you should start petitioning your city/county council to create an ordinance against it and impose fines.

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

Thanks, Jenna.

Some stupidity is inexcusable. These people lack empathy.

Elly ..you had an interesting day dealing with idiots. Years ago a lady was putting a flyer on my car. I thanked her and said my greyhound was fine. I had all the windows up and had cranked the AC on high and ran in to the automatic checkout for milk. When I opened the car, cool air rushed out but I thanked her and said I would have done the same. In fact yesterday we were with our dogs and he stopped for gas. Of course the car had to be shut off during that time. It started to heat up so fast in the 90 seconds or 2 minutes it took him to pump and pay. Even on a relatively cool but sunny day the heat rises much higher than one would think. A co worker of my daughter brought his dog to work(don't ask me why). He parked in a shady place and this wasn't summer and at noon when he came out to walk the dog, he was dead. The car was no longer in the shade.

I found this flyer.

Here is a link that might be useful: dangers of hot cars flyer

The site below has some excellent info as well. I live in
Houston & unfortunately this happens a lot - too children, as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: My dog is cool