Over the weekend, the SPCA was looking into yet another case of two small dogs left inside a hot car, their owners having left them alone to fend for themselves.
And now former Delta dog walker Emma Paulsen has been charged with various offenses related to the deaths of six dogs in her care.
For those who haven’t noticed, society’s attitudes have changed. People are no longer willing to let sleeping dogs lie, as it were, when they see animals in vehicles where there is the threat of overheating.
People will contact the police and if others deem it appropriate, the vehicle owner could be facing smashed windows as well as legal consequences.
Even when temperatures aren’t like this week’s heat wave scorchers, vehicles get too hot for animals to be safe.
Yet for too many, the message isn’t registering.
Why are you different?
Unless a vehicle is equipped with temperature controls that stay on when the engine is off, there’s no possibility to keep the vehicle temperature from rising.
Do a web search for hot pets in vehicles, and there’s lots of posters and public warnings.
A poster by the German Shepherd Dog Community includes a chart that shows how quickly vehicles heat up.
On a 24 Celsius degree day, a vehicle will get to 38 degrees in about 10 minutes and 48 in about 30 minutes.
If you can’t comfortably sit in the vehicle, why assume a pet in fur can?
The window crack excuse is no excuse. And it’s no excuse to say they don’t like to be left at home.
Pets and people have incredible bonds but that’s never licence to put their lives in danger.
Leave animals at home where they have access to water and shade.
Otherwise there may be an opportunity to spend time in a courtroom and the court of public opinion.
And that’s when things really heat up.
– H.C.