# Stranger in store threatened to call cops because of my dog **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 21, 2018, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-store-threatened-to-call-cops-because-of-my-dog/818311 "2018-07-21T02:11:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-store-threatened-to-call-cops-because-of-my-dog/818311/101 "2018-07-24T06:53:19Z")
My Yorkie hates the car. To her it’s the thing that takes her to the bad places. The vet, the groomer and the horrors of the dog park. She never ceases barking and whining the whole time. And I don’t live close to anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-store-threatened-to-call-cops-because-of-my-dog/818311/102 "2018-07-24T07:06:39Z")
We found a doggie (Jack, the BEST DOG IN THE WORLD) many years ago, and he was disinclined to be left at home alone too. We tried it twice, and had door jambs ripped away, floors clawed down to the bearers, so figured it was easier to just take him EVERYWHERE. Jack never wanted to leave my side. He loved the car. Would jump in the front seat…then a quick, ‘Over the back, Jack’ would see him in the rear part of my station wagon, with his own dicky-seat, and his very own window. I had to make sure that the car was parked in either an underground carpark or under very shady trees…but Jack had is own window and didn’t care too much anyway. If it was REALLY hot, then Jack would get tied up under a tree with a big bucket of water next to where I was working on any given day. Jack just wanted to be near his people. I miss Jack, even 20 years later. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-store-threatened-to-call-cops-because-of-my-dog/818311/103 "2018-07-24T07:26:16Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Why not? If you have to ask that kind of question, you shouldn’t have a dog. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-store-threatened-to-call-cops-because-of-my-dog/818311/104 "2018-07-24T07:37:04Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > If you have to ask that kind of question, you shouldn’t have a dog. Why not? As I explained in my post above, you can certainly leave dogs in cars under certain conditions. And I live in AUSTRALIA where temps regularly rise over 35c in the summer. ---
**Author:** ![MarvinKitFox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MarvinKitFox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarvinKitFox)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-store-threatened-to-call-cops-because-of-my-dog/818311/105 "2018-07-24T10:18:26Z")
> [@Whatever4](#): > > My 13 yr old rescue dog has severe separation anxiety. If she can’t see me, she fears the hounds of hell will barbecue her for dinner. If I so much as I leave the room, she freaks. Sooooo… The dog FREAK OUT if you leave her in a room, but is FINE with being locked in a car while you walk away? Wow, that sure is one highly specific separation anxiety she has. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-store-threatened-to-call-cops-because-of-my-dog/818311/106 "2018-07-24T10:45:47Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > If you have to ask that kind of question, you shouldn’t have a dog. If you cannot answer that question then you should not be offering advice … or owning a dog. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-store-threatened-to-call-cops-because-of-my-dog/818311/107 "2018-07-24T14:06:41Z")
Our sheriff’s department put out a poster that said: > [@](#): > > This is your pet. > > This is your car. Then under a picture of a turkey in a roaster: > [@](#): > > This is your pet in your car on a hot day. > > Any questions? For those who lack any critical thinking skills. By the way, the high temperature is expected to be 42°C today. That’s 108°F to us Statesiders. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-store-threatened-to-call-cops-because-of-my-dog/818311/108 "2018-07-24T15:57:00Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > My Yorkie hates the car. To her it’s the thing that takes her to the bad places. The vet, the groomer and the horrors of the dog park. She never ceases barking and whining the whole time. And I don’t live close to anywhere. Because the only time she goes in the car it’s too bad places she associates the car with bad. Take her for trips in the car that aren’t bad. To a (non-dog) park for a walk. To the pet store (where pets are welcome inside the store), to a relatives, or even just a drive around & then back home. ---
**Author:** ![Mikemike2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikemike2/32/305_2.png) [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-store-threatened-to-call-cops-because-of-my-dog/818311/109 "2018-07-24T16:08:43Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > It sounds like we are talking about dogs that need a comfort dog. Is that even possible? > > I carry a small handheld tool in my car that is specifically designed to be swung through automobile glass safely and quickly. It’s only about 7 inches long and sits in the pocket of my door. If I would have come up on an infant in a car seat or any animal stuck in a car that was clearly showing signs of distress the very last thing I would do is going to the store and try to find the owner or the parent. > > I would simply put the tool through the window, remove the child or the animal and then call the police. Not only did this adult sound like she was out of line and somewhat unstable but she did things in the wrong order if she truly perceived danger to another living thing. > > I have carried this device since I was an emergency medical technician. Even though I am retired now I would have exactly zero compunction against using it. I get that you said “dog in distress”, but my concern is this situation could happen with my dog. I have a car that can be locked without the keys being in it and left running. So the air conditioner is on. It is also a hybrid, so sometimes the engine stops, even though the air conditioner is on. I leave my dog in this car when I go grocery shopping and such. Yet my concern is that someone comes across my comfortably sleeping dog and decides something needs to be done like breaking a window. I would certainly sue that person, if I could find them, for a fairly expensive repair, and hope the police would press charges. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-store-threatened-to-call-cops-because-of-my-dog/818311/110 "2018-07-24T18:05:24Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Come on, isn’t it obvious? Why would I? Have you been reading this thread at all? BTW, I live in Arizona, FWIW. Insane temperatures in the summer time. 98°F at 10:00 PM as I post this. I agree that it’s unwise to leave a dog in a car for any extended period at 98 degrees. But you stated that you wouldn’t leave a dog in a car for even a minute at 70 degrees. Why not? What’s not safe about that? Was that just hyperbole? ---
**Author:** ![Macca26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Macca26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macca26)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-store-threatened-to-call-cops-because-of-my-dog/818311/111 "2018-07-24T18:12:08Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Are there any statistics on this though? I see dogs in cars fairly often in parking lots and have yet to see one in distress and our summers get pretty hot. I can’t seem to find a lot of hard statistics on pet heatstroke deaths, probably because there’s no database to track them, but [here is an article](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/10/05/police-k-9-dogs-deaths-hot-cars/91475906/) stating that at least a dozen K-9 police dog deaths were from heatstroke in 2016. If well-trained police officers with elaborate safety systems in their cars can still manage to have their animals die on them, I can only imagine what the extrapolation is to the general populace. Most of the heatstroke death numbers are focused on children, as that’s more tragic. Dozens of children die every year from being left in hot cars in the USA alone. I imagine animal deaths are many more than that. Personally I would never take the chance and leave an animal in a car unattended. I think people who are confident that their pet will always be okay without them are overconfident and maybe even reckless. There is always the chance that your air conditioning will fail. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-store-threatened-to-call-cops-because-of-my-dog/818311/112 "2018-07-24T18:13:30Z")
> [@](#): > > So what would y’all have done? I guess it’s time to get a smartphone and take videos. Perhaps that might have shut her up. I only identified my car/dog because this lady’s first question to me was did I own the white van with puppies in it? Which I now think didn’t exist. From what I’ve seen lately, that would only work if you were black and she were white. In that case, sure, whip out your cellphone and it will make national news the next day as “leaving your dog in a car while black.” ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-store-threatened-to-call-cops-because-of-my-dog/818311/113 "2018-07-24T18:18:58Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > If you have to ask that kind of question, you shouldn’t have a dog. Please describe the totally obvious to you terrible catastrophe that will befall a dog left in a car in 70 degree weather for one minute that I’m somehow not getting. For what it’s worth, I don’t have a dog, but I have a human child, and I have no qualms about leaving him in the car at 70 degrees for one minute. He managed to survive his infancy despite taking plenty of naps in the car at 70 degrees. 70 degrees being, you know, basically the ideal temperature for human comfort that we regularly expend great effort to raise or lower the ambient temperature to. Good grief. ---
**Author:** ![Macca26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Macca26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macca26)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-store-threatened-to-call-cops-because-of-my-dog/818311/114 "2018-07-24T18:24:20Z")
[I just looked at the heatstroke deaths of children in 2017.](http://noheatstroke.org/hyperthermia2017.html) A child died after being left in a car for a few hours on a 70 degree day the last day in October. At such a low temperature still resulting in death, I simply would never take a chance on animals in cars either. I’m not talking about a mere “minute”, literally, but so many of these accidents are someone thinking they will only be gone “a minute” and then something happens and they forget. It’s almost always a case of some little forgetful mistake snowballing into a horrible death. People are confident that they will never forget little Timmy or Rover in the backseat, and yet they do, and they die by the dozens every year. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-store-threatened-to-call-cops-because-of-my-dog/818311/115 "2018-07-24T18:25:43Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Are there any statistics on this though? I see dogs in cars fairly often in parking lots and have yet to see one in distress and our summers get pretty hot. Just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. So this isn’t actual “statistics”, but [this](http://www.kcra.com/article/heat-kills-dead-dogs-brought-to-sacramento-shelter/10212652) is the shelter where I have volunteered for many years, and I remember this last year. One week alone 6 dogs were brought in “for disposal” after being left to die in hot cars. How many more were in distress, but never reported? How many were in distress, but their owner came back in time? How many more died, but the owners buried them in the back yard or took them elsewhere for disposal? We can’t know for sure. I have been there when our ACO’s have brought dogs with heat stroke back to the shelter after rescuing them from hot cars and no owner came back. It’s heartbreaking to see them in distress. Why risk it under any circumstances? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-store-threatened-to-call-cops-because-of-my-dog/818311/116 "2018-07-24T18:28:46Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Please describe the totally obvious to you terrible catastrophe that will befall a dog left in a car in 70 degree weather for one minute that I’m somehow not getting. One minute? No Problem. But the Ops shopping trip took longer than a minute. \*\* DSeids\*\* link/cite shows that even at 70 can get up up to 117. and as **FloatyGimpy** pointed out, it is very easy for a quick trip to turn longer. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-store-threatened-to-call-cops-because-of-my-dog/818311/117 "2018-07-24T18:32:07Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Please describe the totally obvious to you terrible catastrophe that will befall a dog left in a car in 70 degree weather for one minute that I’m somehow not getting. > > For what it’s worth, I don’t have a dog, but I have a human child, and I have no qualms about leaving him in the car at 70 degrees for one minute. He managed to survive his infancy despite taking plenty of naps in the car at 70 degrees. 70 degrees being, you know, basically the ideal temperature for human comfort that we regularly expend great effort to raise or lower the ambient temperature to. > > Good grief. Good grief, yourself. > [@](#): > > The temperature inside your vehicle can rise almost 20º F in just 10 minutes. In 20 minutes, it can rise almost 30º F…and the longer you wait, the higher it goes. At 60 minutes, the temperature in your vehicle can be more than 40 degrees higher than the outside temperature. Even on a 70-degree day, that’s 110 degrees inside your vehicle! > > Your vehicle can quickly reach a temperature that puts your pet at risk of serious illness and even death, even on a day that doesn’t seem hot to you. And cracking the windows makes no difference. > > Want numbers? An independent study showed that the interior temperature of vehicles parked in outside temperatures ranging from 72 to 96º F rose steadily as time increased. Another study​, performed by the Louisiana Office of Public Health, found that the temperatures in a dark sedan as well as a light gray minivan parked on a hot, but partly cloudy day, exceeded 125°F within 20 minutes. [https://www.avma.org/public/PetCare/Pages/pets-in-vehicles.aspx?mode=full](https://www.avma.org/public/PetCare/Pages/pets-in-vehicles.aspx?mode=full) ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-store-threatened-to-call-cops-because-of-my-dog/818311/118 "2018-07-24T19:18:37Z")
Did… you not read the thing that you wrote that I originally responded to? Here it is again. > [@cochrane](#): > > I would never leave my dog in a locked car, not even for a minute, and not if the temperature were just 70°. Still not understanding why. In a minute, the temperature might reach as high as 72 degrees! ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-store-threatened-to-call-cops-because-of-my-dog/818311/119 "2018-07-24T19:23:50Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Still not understanding why. > > In a minute, the temperature might reach as high as 72 degrees! Either you don’t understand “common expressions” or you’re being deliberately obtuse. It’s very common for people to use the phrase “not even for a minute” to mean they wouldn’t do it ever. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-store-threatened-to-call-cops-because-of-my-dog/818311/120 "2018-07-24T21:22:06Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > Either you don’t understand “common expressions” or you’re being deliberately obtuse. I vote the latter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-store-threatened-to-call-cops-because-of-my-dog/818311.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-store-threatened-to-call-cops-because-of-my-dog/818311.md?page=7)