A friend of mine posted on Facebook a warning about current hot weather, and ended it with “keep an eye out for animals left in cars.”
Someone responded to her and said “I saw a dog in a car the other day. The window was cracked, but obviously not enough to make a difference. I called the cops and they said as long as the window was cracked that it wasn’t an issue. When I pushed a little bit, they told me to call my congressman if I had a problem with it.”
So… what are the options in that case? That seems total bullshit that the cops wouldn’t do anything. Obviously she could have broken a window with a tire iron or something, but is there anything that could be done that isn’t a crime if the police won’t respond?
Why do you say obviously not enough to make a difference? If the animal is suffering that would seem sufficient for the police to act, but just because a dog is in hot car doesn’t mean it’s in danger.
In that case, you would smash the window and let the dog out. (Of course you have to be prepared to suffer any consequences; criminal charge, civil liability for window replacement, etc.)
Tennessee has a Good Samaritan law that extends to pets. If you deem a child or pet is in danger in a locked car, you can break the window without worrying about legal repercussions.
A couple years ago there was a small dog locked in a hot van with cracked windows in the parking lot of WalMart. I went in and had the store make an announcement. I waited 10 minutes and no one came out. I asked them to announce again. Still no response. I called the police and they sent a car pretty quickly, but he didn’t do anything because the dog didn’t look in distress. However, he kept circling the parking lot checking on the dog, and when the woman came out towing a load of grandchildren eating ice cream and an air conditioner in her cart, he spoke to her. She claimed she was only inside for “10 minutes, maximum!” and I asked if she wanted to she the time on my phone when I called the police. Cop told her to leave the dog at home when it was going to be that hot.
I think staying with the car/dog is your best bet. You can monitor the time and the dog’s level of discomfort.
You think that smashing the window is the way to go but…I dunno, that seems pretty over-the-top as the thing to start with (and lord knows I’m an animal lover)
If you do end up smashing the window because the dog is in distress, pouring non-icy water on its body will help it cool down. Hopefully someone walks by with a case of water!
If the dog is listless and doesn’t respond to sounds it could be in danger. I’d make a judgment call. I can afford to reimburse someone for a broken window, so if I called the police and they didn’t respond I’d probably break the glass. The law is going to vary, but dogs aren’t people and it may not be looked on as a necessity to damage someone’s property. But there’s a short limit to how much animal abuse I can tolerate, and baking a dog to death in car is well over that limit.
I like sandra’s idea of calling the SPCA. This is their bailiwick, the local chapter is surely familiar with local law, and if you’re lucky, maybe they can even send someone over, depending on their proximity.
Your first move should be to find the owner, unless the dog is in a physical state that requires immediate action.
People have gotten so overzealous about this issue that it can be 50 degrees and a cloudy day with windows cracked and they think smashing the glass is appropriate. I saw people nearly get in a fist fight over a dog left in a car with the A/C running and a family member checking every five minutes. It was a warm evening, around 75 degrees, but the sun wasn’t even out and the A/C was on. Sometimes it seems like everyone is desperately hoping to encounter dog abuse so they can be a hero and “save” an animal.
I told them that if this is the case, then they need to respond to a woman fixin’ to use a tire iron on a car window, and that local news would also be on the way, as would Judge X [a longtime friend, animal lover, and formerly one of the attorneys on retainer for the area cops].
A cruiser cop showed up not long after and sorted things out.
I got lucky and didn’t have any consequences. YMMV, obviously.
ETA: It was 90F and humid. The car was parked in the sun in the grocery store lot. I’d been there for ten minutes and it obviously wasn’t a case of “a quick errand”, which doesn’t happen on a Saturday morning in the supermarket anyway.
If you’re in a big city that has a 24/7 “animal control” office, maybe.
The only “animal control” in my area is a Dog Warden, who works part time and AFAIK only investigates complaints after the fact. Doing something right now (as opposed to during the Dog Warden’s next shift) is the job of the police.
I came across a small dog in a car when I was walking across the parking lot of a grocery store in Georgia in late August. Car was not running, windows were up. Went into the store, asked them to make an announcement, did my shopping. Came out about 15 minutes later; car still there, dog’s tongue is hanging to its knees and it’s pacing back and forth. I walk to my car, load my groceries, grab my ResQMe, and go to return my cart to the cart corral. As I’m walking back by the car, I ‘trip and fall’ and in order to break my fall, put a hand out toward the nearest object. Sadly (not really) the nearest object turned out to be the back window of the car with the dog in it, and the hand turned out to be the one holding the ResQMe. Result: shattered window.
The nice store clerk who was gathering carts came over to help me up, and never caught sight of the little tool I tucked into my pocket. Of course I waited for the owner of the car to come out (15 minutes after THAT), and the store clerk and I explained the whole sordid thing. No charges for me, since it was just a terrible accident, and the dog was fine.
In that case, I would wager big money that a call to the Fire Dept directly would result in a much different outcome. A visit to come out and take a look, at the very least.
This one is easy. I would call AAA and have someone come open the car. The benefits apply to any car that I am a passenger in, so I don’t have to prove ownership of the car. Technically, they should be checking that someone present actually owns the car, but they never do!
I would simply have them come open the car up. I’d leave a note on the car that I took the dog to go get some water. I’d just tell the owner that she left the car door unlocked and her dog looked really bad.
Hmmm, but aren’t you missing out on the fun of self-righteously smashing stuff and then bragging about what a hero you are? Your approach seems pretty civilized and decent and doesn’t even shame or humiliate anyone.
My experience with AAA, the dog would be dead before they got there.
I’d use my phone to record the dog in distress, then try to break the window myself if I truly thought it was in trouble. Then, I’d take my chances in court if the owner tried to get me to pay for the damage.
I’d post it on you tube and hope it goes viral. Shame the owner and the police.
