Just a reminder - don't leave your dogs alone in your car, even for a minute

The UK is suffering a heatwave at the moment but even in cooler weather it can take just minutes for a dog to overheat in a car and die.

Sadly two police dogs have died here this week after their off duty handler left them alone in his van for an unspecified amount of time.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nottinghamshire/8129826.stm

A vet has said that sadly the dogs will have suffered greatly and recommends that dogs be left at home rather than taken out if at any point in your journey you will have to leave them alone in your car.

If you can't take them inside all the places you are going, don't take them at all. Even parking in the shade and leaving a window open isn't enough to keep them safe.

I know I am preaching to the converted here but I intend to remind everyone I know with a dog about this and even strangers if I think they are going to leave their dogs in their car alone.

Never underestimate the sheer stupidity of certain dog owners, Jody (though no-one on LT, I'm sure!). We all think everyone knows this yet it continues to happen every year. I left my car in the road for 10 minutes yesterday and when I got back in the heat was unbearable. Just imagine what it would be like to be trapped in that. What we are talking about here is slowly cooking your pet. Yes, there are people who are truly dumb enough to do that but I suspect the greater problem comes from people who never really meant to leave their dogs in the car, but just thought they would nip into the shop for half a minute. They never stop to think how easilt half a minute turns into ten minutes or more. I even heard of one woman a couple of years ago in a very hot spell, who thought it was safe to pop into the chemist while her dog was in the car (with a window open) and who was suddenly taken ill in the store. An ambulance was called when she fainted and she was taken to hospital. By the time she remembered her dog her car had been broken into and the dog was dead. And a former neighbour once shut the door on his dog then accidentally dropped his keys down a drain. Fortunately, he had the presence of mind to call for help in having the car broken into before he started trying to recover his keys but the thought of what could have happened is a great lesson to everyone who thinks it will be okay to shut that door for just a couple of minutes. Leave them at home; it's just never worth it.

And it's up to the responsible owners among us to keep an eye open for other dogs left in cars and report them to the police, RSPCA or car park attendants immediately.

I just can't imagine someone leaving pets inside their cars right now. Our avg. temperature right now is 100 degrees.

people do it all the time. you have to wonder where their brains are at.

Walmart fires employee who spoke up about dogs in hot cars: http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/07/11/wal-mart-to-post-warnings-about-leaving-....

Unfortunately, it isn't the only company that cares more about bottom line than the suffering in its parking lots...

ETA: 93% of readers voted that Wal-Mart was wrong to dismiss employee: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2013/07/11/ottawa-walmart-employee-fi... . Maybe doglovers CAN make a difference!

What a great time to bring this up again. We're going through some very hot (for the UK!) weather right now and it's clear that some people need telling every summer. My poor dog is struggling to cope with the heat at the moment even though he's in his home with all doors and windows open and fans on in every room, I shudder to think how he would feel if left in a stationary car for any length of time at all - if I do have to take him with me in the car I let the car stand with all the doors open for at least ten minutes before I even contemplate putting him in there. Coming back from a harp lesson the other day I badly needed to call in to the shop for a couple of essentials but couldn't do so because I knew I couldn't leave the harp in the car. What on earth makes some people care less about a living creature than I do about a musical instrument is absolutely beyond me. Here's hoping all our LT dogs are staying as comfortable as possible.

Bad enough that dogs are left in hot cars but thirty-three children died from being left in a hot car in the United States last year, according to KidsAndCars.org. Fifteen have died so far this year as of June 24...

ETA: Make that 20 children dead as of mid-July: http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/heat-heightens-car-temperature/153056...

May 12, 2015. The season commences with US veteran charged for breaking car window to save small dog from hot car. https://www.thedodo.com/man-arrested-saving-dog-hot-car-1140077928.html

If previous seasons are any guide I will probably come across dog(s) sweltering in car. Short of breaking window, what can one do? Alert store. Call police or humane society. Place a leaflet re dangers of hot cars under wiper.

I carry a cheap foil reflector that I assume placed on outside of windshield would prevent dashboard from heating up?

If window is open a crack, I could probably push ice-cubes one by one into car--would that help keep dog cool, and could I be arrested?

Other?