I Am Sooo M A D

[psugorilladdr]

I agree. I would have done the same thing. If they were just in there for five minutes doing something, ok... But come on trying on clothes, not a good excuse. Thats horrible.

[AMD]

that is soo sad!! I can't believe people would do that!! poor baby!

[doortego]

I, of course, think the lady was negligent for leaving the dog in the car while clothes shopping. By its very nature, clothes shopping is not something you can do very quickly.

However, some of us who live away from a metropolitan area can sometimes be put in a very awkward situation where we just can't win. I live approximately 50 miles from any measurable shopping & our vet. Last week I took my little Malt in to get a booster shot and needed something else from "town". I ended up putting her in a carrier and sneaking her into the store, where she promptly began barking,-- that got me ugly looks, had I left her in the car, that would have gotten me worse because it is already hot here in TX so the only thing I could have done that would have pleased anyone was drive my dog 50 miles to the vet, take it home & then get back in the car & drive the 50 miles again.

I've even thought of taking two sets of keys with me so I could leave the dog in the car with the ac running & the doors locked, but I was told it is against the law to go off & leave a car running as well.

I don't really know the answer to this situation other than spending all of my day & most of my money on gas.

[koolbreeze]

Originally Posted by LoveMyGirlz

I for one am not offended by your post. There is a very big difference with running into the store for a bottle of water, or running inside to mail a letter, etc....and shopping for clothes at a store or having lunch while your baby is inside a car and with no water in sight! There is a more responsible way to leave your baby if you have to do it but yes, if you are going to the mall and know you want time for YOU, then leave the poor baby at home!!
Not sure about confronting a person, but calling authorities could be the better way to go. Someone posted that some people don't like to be told how to raise their dogs anymore than being told how to raise their children....so does that mean if you see a baby in a carseat, alone in a parked car, we shouldn't be concerned?? Sorry but I couldnt walk away from that! At the very least I would sit in my own car and "babysit" from a far while calling authorities...
This could be a huge debate I know, but I think there is reason to be concerned when we see this being done. I think MOST of us are responsible enough but there are those few that have come back to a dead baby or dead dog - it happens, even with all the reports out there.

anybody who would stand by and watch a child in a locked car is crazy. i never said not to call the police. i said that no one likes to be told how to raise their children by a complete stranger. that has nothing to do with calling the cops when i child is left in the car. and that parent needs to have the cops called on them. if you haven't noticed not everyone holds dogs in such high regards. and the majority of the world would do anything to protect children. of course we have some idiots out there. but if anyone feels it necessary to call the cops because someone left their dog in the car then go for it. but like on post said most of the time the cops won't do anything.

[pea496]

I would not leave my Conner in the car because I would be afraid someone would steal him. Yorkies have been stolen from homes and pet stores, why not parked cars? When my husband and I go out and take the furbaby, one of us stays in the car while the other one goes in the store. We take the little guy for a walk. Our Target and Walmarts have large grassy areas where we take the dog. My husband is as concerned as I am about the furbaby being stolen that he does not want to leave him in the car, even in the shade.

[joy and bella]

i never leave bella in the car. it gets to hot in florida, even for 5 minutes, and i am terrified she will get stolen!!!!!

[LoveMyGirlz]

Originally Posted by koolbreeze

anybody who would stand by and watch a child in a locked car is crazy. i never said not to call the police. i said that no one likes to be told how to raise their children by a complete stranger. that has nothing to do with calling the cops when i child is left in the car. and that parent needs to have the cops called on them. if you haven't noticed not everyone holds dogs in such high regards. and the majority of the world would do anything to protect children. of course we have some idiots out there. but if anyone feels it necessary to call the cops because someone left their dog in the car then go for it. but like on post said most of the time the cops won't do anything.

What I was pointing out, based on what you had said, is that some or most people don't like being told what to do, but there are those that need a little shove, if you will, and leaving children in the car is a perfect example that people DO stupid things, regardless if its right or wrong or safe or not. So....though you feel not everyone holds dogs in such high regards, I am one who does and I would respond the same way if I saw a dog locked in a car or a child. That is what I'm saying. If I walked away and later learned that dog died in the car I couldn't live with myself!
And just want to note that MY dogs are my daughters, skinkids or furkids, I would never deliberately put either in danger That's why I love that I found this board, cause we seem to understand that of each other and others might say "its just a dog."

[izzy816]

Originally Posted by marcerella02

easy people... i know sometimes i will run into the bank with Layla in the car... windows down... 5 min tops... she is in her crate in the shade.. and when i can i leave the car running.. don't assume every dog you see has been in there for hours.... sometimes it is less than 5 min... she loves car rides.. and naps when i'm in the store... the people leaving the dogs in their car are not necissarily "bad".... now if a dog is in there for an hour... then i can see getting upset.. but like today.. Layla is with my mom (she LOVES car rides) and my mom is doing running around.. Layla will stay ni her crate for the 2 min she runs into various places.. and she is no worse for wear.. she gets water and fresh air and she is fine i dont' think she even knows we are gone! she naps as soon as the car starts moving. just please dotn' assume these dogs' parents dont' care... because we do it too... and we love her more than anythign..

I agree. I left Izzy in the car once but only for less than 3 min. It wasn't that hot and I left the window cracked and the sunroof. I had to take my grandmother to Home Depot and she was taking an awful long time. Usually I go into stores with her to help her out, because she is 76 and takes longer because of her age...which is expected. I was concerned because she said she would only be a few minutes. So, I ran in to find her (she was at the checkout )and ran out because I was nervous about leaving him. Now mind you, she has a cell phone but just like a grandma, she left it at home...LOL

When I came back he was fine. I usually leave him home when Im going to stores that dont allow pets.

[YorkieTime07]

Originally Posted by Doodlebug

I am sorry if you feel that we were messing in someone's business that we had no right to do. I don't feel that we took it too far at all.

I was in a different store shopping while my husband waited outside. He saw the yorkie locked in the car for 30 min. while he was waiting for me. He doesn't know how much longer it was in the car before he saw it but it was already in a very stressed state, pacing and panting for air. There was no water for the dog to drink in there and there were other people besides my husband standing around the car concerned about the dog when I came out of the store.

When I said I was going in all the stores until I found the owner, the other people left because it was being taken care of. When the lady came out she said she was in the dressing room trying on clothes. I think she forgot about the dog. If it had been me I would have been grateful that someone saw my dog and called me outside. We are all human and could have been distracted when trying on clothes and forgot we left the dog in the car. The dog was clearly in distress. My husband was talking to the dog thru the car window to try to calm it down. The car windows were cracked about 1/4 inch, not enough to let air in a hot car. The temp was in the 80's.

I didn't really expect the person to let me watch her dog while she shopped. But she started heading back into the store without even opening the car to give the dog some fresh air. She said she wasn't finished trying on clothes. I was trying to think of anything I could to get her to look after her dog. It worked, she got in the car in a huff and left. If she would have gone back in the store I probably would have called the police to hopefully rescue the dog.

I couldn't in good conscience walk away from that scene and leave the dog to convulse and/or die. That car was heating up fast in the hot sun. If I ever come upon this situation again, I will not go looking for the owner, I will call the police or animal welfare people. Maybe that was a mistake. My thought was to save the owner from that kind of scene and possibly a broken car window and also to get relief for the dog as soon as possible.

If that was your dog, what would you have liked me to do? I am asking because it was sort of a panic situation for me and I acted on impulse. What I did may not have been the best thing but I would like to hear what you would have liked someone to do if it had been your dog.

My husband didn't confront her, he just told her he was worried about her dog in the hot car. She went off on him for even saying it. I don't care how mad and upset she was, I wasn't going to stand there and watch that little dog die in that car.

I think you did the right thing!! When I am out with Nathan I have already planned in my head where I am going and if he can go in the store with me in his bag...if not... i leave him home where its comfortable!!! That lady was someone who obviously does not need a dog and this maybe wake her up to know that people will get involved and she may decide next time to leave the dog at home so she will not be embarrassed. People get defense when they know they are wrong!! Here in Ga she would have probably gotten a ticket or something...they are really cracking down on abuse to animals and that to me is abuse!!!! Especially when she walked back in the store!!!!!!

[YorkieTime07]

Originally Posted by marcerella02

easy people... i know sometimes i will run into the bank with Layla in the car... windows down... 5 min tops... she is in her crate in the shade.. and when i can i leave the car running.. don't assume every dog you see has been in there for hours.... sometimes it is less than 5 min... she loves car rides.. and naps when i'm in the store... the people leaving the dogs in their car are not necissarily "bad".... now if a dog is in there for an hour... then i can see getting upset.. but like today.. Layla is with my mom (she LOVES car rides) and my mom is doing running around.. Layla will stay ni her crate for the 2 min she runs into various places.. and she is no worse for wear.. she gets water and fresh air and she is fine i dont' think she even knows we are gone! she naps as soon as the car starts moving. just please dotn' assume these dogs' parents dont' care... because we do it too... and we love her more than anythign..

I agree with everything you said but look at the common sense your using in having your baby ride with you vs the treatment of the yorkie in the hot car...big difference ...and i too will run into the bank and leave Nathan in the car in his bag if he is sleeping for a minute but I am very aware of where i park, weather etc...We are concerned yorkie owners ..she wasn't being responsible at all

[Mommy of Brandi]

I'm confused.......I know I live in a big city......and it might be different here......but to me leaving your dog in a car in a parking lot is like taping a $1,000. bill to the windshield......let alone that the dog could roast in the car........or even worse.....I think you did the RIGHT thing finding the owner......

[Doodlebug]

YorkieTime07, Thank you for your response.

I kept picturing that dog in the car as being my little Daisy and that is why I looked for the owner. I would hope that someone would do that for me if I forgot Daisy in the car and she was starting to be overcome by heat. I would feel embarassed that I did that, but I would be thanking them for caring enough about my dog to look for me. I would never forgive myself if I left Daisy in a hot car and killed her. I know everyone doesn't feel the same way that I do but that's just me.

What we did was not meant to embarass anyone. We were just trying to save her dog for her. She may have been embarassed over it but it was in front of one stranger (my husband) that she will probably never see again. I would have thought she would rather be embarassed for a minute in front of a total stranger that she will proably never see again and have her dog alive, than come out and find her dog dead in the car. I now see that I was wrong about that. Holy cow, I have embarassed my self probably hundreds of times in front of people that I will see for the rest of my life (family, co-workers, etc) and you just get over it eventually. It's not the end of the world.

[daisy mae06]

Originally Posted by doortego

I, of course, think the lady was negligent for leaving the dog in the car while clothes shopping. By its very nature, clothes shopping is not something you can do very quickly.

However, some of us who live away from a metropolitan area can sometimes be put in a very awkward situation where we just can't win. I live approximately 50 miles from any measurable shopping & our vet. Last week I took my little Malt in to get a booster shot and needed something else from "town". I ended up putting her in a carrier and sneaking her into the store, where she promptly began barking,-- that got me ugly looks, had I left her in the car, that would have gotten me worse because it is already hot here in TX so the only thing I could have done that would have pleased anyone was drive my dog 50 miles to the vet, take it home & then get back in the car & drive the 50 miles again.

I've even thought of taking two sets of keys with me so I could leave the dog in the car with the ac running & the doors locked, but I was told it is against the law to go off & leave a car running as well.

I don't really know the answer to this situation other than spending all of my day & most of my money on gas.

LOL I agree it is a long drive for me too. I once had this problem . I just asked my vet if I could leave my dog with them for a hour so she would not be in the heat. They sad NP and No charge )

[doortego]

Originally Posted by daisy mae06

LOL I agree it is a long drive for me too. I once had this problem . I just asked my vet if I could leave my dog with them for a hour so she would not be in the heat. They sad NP and No charge )

Good idea. I don't know if they would let me or not but I sure could have asked

[daisy mae06]

Originally Posted by doortego

Good idea. I don't know if they would let me or not but I sure could have asked

It never hurts Once we stoped at Big Lots after the vet and I Just asked if they would mind and They said no problem