I don't live in a state that ever gets that hot...and as I have stated plenty of times now I am NOT okay with people leaving their dogs in hot cars for extended periods of time but again, we don't know everyone's situation. I'm not going to leave Miley at home, drive to the store, then go back home to get her just to go on a walk at the lake. It takes my car much longer than 5 minutes to warm up in the summer...I don't plan to leave her in the car I have a carrier for her but if I ever needed to for no more than 5 minutes for some reason I'd hope to not come back to a busted window with my dog gone. But as others have stated, people steal small dogs so she won't ever be left in the car anyway.

Is she sure the dog didn't jump out of the car?

Very informative articles, thanks!

My babies always beg and cry to go with me so naturally they usually do.If it's a place they obviously can't go they don't but sometimes you need to stop for a few minutes. I always have either a sling or bag carrier with me. I've only had one place tell me the dog couldn't be there. I just said sorry and gave them the shopping cart and left.

911
 

I always call 911 and I always wait until the police arrive, I have called 3 times in the last 2 yrs. and each time was at a dine in restaurant, people actually went inside to eat food and left their babies in the car. Now Missouri didnt show as having any laws on for this but the people I called 911 on were given citations.

Personally... if you are taking your baby with you, you should only plan to be going places that they can go.

I would....that is the difference between what we find acceptable. I live in Texas....It takes longer than 3 minutes to walk from a parking lot, parked in a space close to the store door, and then turn right around and walk right back out to the car....you are already looking at at least 6 minutes just walking into and turning around and going back to the car. If you grab an item that is right by the check out lane, you are STILL looking at at least another 5 minutes minimum inside the store! I am always being "inconvenienced" by my dogs, but I will make double or triple or however many trips out of my way, rather than leave any of my babies in a parked car, unattended....it is not in their best interest on several levels. That is just me. But we do have people that do not feel like that...they leave their dogs locked in parked cars, they also leave their babies in locked cars....if a dog can survive in a hoit car, a baby should be able to......more convenient to do that, than make two trips. In Texas, it gets very hot, very quickly, and you will return to your car to find your window broken out and the police, Animal control or even CPS waiting for you to get back out to your car! (And there have been several stories of police officers that have left their K-9s in the police cars, with the a/c running, and they return to their cars to find dying dogs...a/c's apparently will start to blow hot air if they are running in a parked car in summertime....they sent out public service messages addressing this very issue. The officers were absolutely devastated...)

I would suggest that those of you that feel it is OK to leave a pet in a car on a mildly hot day for a short time just sit in your car with the windows down 2" for five minutes after the car is turned off. It takes seconds for the car to heat up to an intolerable degree. Sit there and see how long you can take it. You think that you will be gone for 5 minutes but what happens when you get stuck in line or you can't find what you need? That extra five minutes can overheat your dog's brain. The temperature inside the car is much hotter than outside. Check out this chart.
How hot do cars get? | RedRover

I love my dog. She has a wonderful car seat and loves to go places with me but if I know I am going to have to go into a store or some where that she cannot go then she stays home. I would never leave my kids alone in a car when they were young and I will not do it to my very precious dog.

There are things you can do besides smash a window....if there is time. Go to the store you think the owner is in and have them paged while someone else calls the police. Sometimes people have no sense of time and they just don't think about what is happening to their dog in the car.

When I see dogs in a car in a parking lot they are almost always distressed as they wait for their owners....hot or not. Why put them through that? Take the poor pups home before you go to the store so they can take a nap on the couch while your gone.

Oh see I don't live in Texas where it's like 100 everyday...again I'm not saying is right to leave dogs in cars at all! Miley will NOT be left in my car all I'm saying is you never know why someone left their dog in the car and for that reason that don't deserve to come back to their car with a missing dog and ruined car. I've never seen or heard of anyone leaving a child in the car in my area. That just doesn't seem to happen here.

I have before. It took more than a few seconds for my car to heat up after turning it off...again not saying it's okay but everyone's situation is different. I don't live in a super hot state...

The children in your area are very lucky then. It happens all too often here. I think last year alone, there were as many as 10 children who died after being left in a hot car, ranging from a baby boy just a few weeks old up to a brother and sister ages 6 and 7.

I never leave Morgan in a car and if I see a dog in the car I call the cops

That's horrible!! And NOT safe at all especially for a baby to be left alone.

What state are you in?

Just curious to see what state doesn't get super hot- that is my kind of state!

I’m not saying people who leave their dogs in the car are bad owners, I maybe would call them irresponsible. Even a cool day at 75 degrees would be too hot.

I just don’t understand why someone would take that risk of leaving their dog in the car.. 5 mins is too long. IMO

Originally Posted by xoCourtney
Am I the only one who doesn't think ALL people who leave their dog in a car is being a bad pet owner? I mean the way I see it if Miley and I were going to say the park or something and I had to run into walmart or somewhere to get something quick I would hope I didn't come back to a busted window with my dog missing...dogs just aren't aloud in some stores for obvious reasons but I don't think that makes the pet owner a bad person...I mean they're trying to get their dog out vs. leaving them at home alone all day.PLEASE understand I am NOT saying it is OKAY to leave a dog in a car for long periods of time (sunshine or no sunshine)! But unfortunately dogs are NOT aloud in every store. If I'm going grocery shopping or somewhere Miley isn't aloud for long periods of time I would obviously leave her at home.




Get their dog out by leaving them in the car.. alone? That doesn't sound fun..