Public Service Announcement

You might no know this, but I love dogs. Big dogs, small dogs, cute dogs, ugly dogs (IS TEHRE EVEN SUCH A THING???). So to me it’s so sad and tragic how many people think it’s a super-keen idea to leave their dogs sitting in a locked car. Let me tell you a story:

At around two o’clock I was taking Georgie for a quick walk around the block and I passed a Toyota RAV4 parked on the street, in full sun, with a little fuzzy white dog inside barking his face off. I came home and printed out some “Don’t Leave Me In Here- It’s Hot!” flyers from MyDogIsCool.com and at 2:15 I went and put one on the car’s windshield (the dog was still barking his face off). I went back home and folded some laundry but I couldn’t stop thinking about that poor dog!

A little heat outside a car can quickly make it very hot inside. On a summer’s day of only 85 degrees Fahrenheit, for example, even keeping the windows slightly open won’t stop the inside temperature from climbing to 102 degrees in 10 minutes, and to 120 degrees in 20 minutes. A dog whose body temperature rises to 107-108 degrees will within a very short time suffer irreparable brain damage — or even death.
(from MyDogIsCool.com)

At 2:30 I went back up the street to check and the car was still there, but I didn’t hear any barking. I thought maybe the owner had come and taken him out, but my flyer was still there so I went up to peer in the window (they were really tinted) and the dog barked a couple more times. At this point it’d been there for AT LEAST a half hour and that’s just not acceptable, so I called Animal Control. This actually turned into a bureaucratic nightmare- I called the city to get put through to Animal Control, and after being put on hold for a couple of minutes I was told I actually had to be put through to the SPCA. I was put through to them and gave all the information about the vehicle and it’s location, only to be told I needed to talk to the City Pound, which is operated by… Animal Control. Argh. Anyway the woman at the SPCA contacted them for me, which was good because my phone was about to die anyway.

By the time all this was done it was ten to three; almost a full hour since I’d first seen the dog. I went back up at 3:20 and the RAV4 was gone, so I don’t know if the owner came back or if the city had the car (and the dog) impounded. If the owner did come back, I hope they read the flyer and took it to heart and maybe learned something. If the city got there first I guess they’ll REALLY learn their lesson!

Anyway I guess the point of this post is to spread the word about this very important pet safety issue. I swear I read about this in like, Ranger Rick or National Geographic World magazine when I was in elementary school. I’ve always know how dangerous it is to leave your dog locked in a parked car and it shocks me how many people don’t know this! So please, never ever do this! If you live in a place where you see people doing this, print out some flyers and keep them in your bag so you can put them on people’s cars! Figure out who you have to call in this situation so you don’t end up in a bureaucratic phone loop like me!

IMG_0444Georgie says: “Do it for me and my doggy friends!”

2 Replies to “Public Service Announcement”

  1. Cute pic.

    I know you dont know me. Wanted to mention I volunteer at the SPCA Emergency Shelter and you would be surprised (maybe not) the things we have seen. I live in a condo so can’t have as many animals as I wish, and yes, dogs of any kind are cute. I have a shit-zhu, fostering a cat that might adopt, and this weekend I might be taking care of a 6 weeks old shit-zhu that was abandoned if he doesn’t get adopted before the weekend as he needs a lot of care.

    Great post and love the popsicles parties

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