Tuesday, June 18, 2013

A Sad Reminder of Summer Pet Safety


Did anyone else receive the email from Petfinder on Monday about keeping pets safe during Summer and/or disasters?

I actually went to check out the Petfinder infographics related to Hurricane Season, which started June 1, for a potential post when I saw another infographic that reminded me of a news story a friend told me about over the weekend.

The news story, which occurred in my area (Palm Beach County, Florida), goes something like this:

A man, who went somewhere to take some kind of career exam, left his two dogs in the car with the windows cracked while he was inside for an hour or so.  That day, last Thursday, local temperatures were in the 90s F so you can only imagine how hot it became in that car!


Luckily, a passer-by noticed the dogs in the car and notified people in the area as well as the police.  The responders got the dogs out of the car and brought them inside a building with air conditioning.

By that time, the dogs were already suffering from either Heat Exhaustion or Heat Stroke (I am not sure which one) requiring one of the dogs to need CPR from the responders!  Unfortunately, that dog died soon after despite the resuscitation efforts.

There was still hope for the other dog but alas, that dog succumbed to the Heat Exhaustion (or Heat Stroke) the following day and died as well. 

The owner is being charged with two counts of Animal Cruelty.

The whole situation leaves me barkless!  I know my Ma would've called the police and then smashed the owner's car windows to get to those dogs!  She has no tolerance for this kind of ignorance...or stupidity...or whatever you choose to call it.

So, in honor of the lives of those two dogs...and all the other dogs who have suffered being locked in a hot car, I want to share this Petfinder inforgraphic "Dogs in Hot Cars: How You Can Help!".

Help-Dogs-In-Cars

What would you do to help?




46 comments:

  1. I can never understand how people think it's OK to leave their pets in the car! Especially with all the media attention it gets these days. The weather reporters usually always make note of it on hots days as well as public service announcements. I guess some people just don't/won't believe it really gets hot enough to kill.

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    1. I don't think the WANT to believe anything like that would happen to their dogs, but honestly...it is just plain cruelty. How would that person like to be locked in a hot car with just the windows cracked, with no way out, for an hour?

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  2. This makes me so angry! I call the police but around here they take their sweet time. I take their license plate down and go into the stores and tell them to make an announcement that I have called the police and they are likely to get a fine. I will also leave an info graphic if I have one. I don't know why some people refuse to grasp this! Poor puppies to have to die that way.

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    1. It is horrible. I bet most of those people, if they heard an announcement about their dogs like that, wouldn't even do anything about it still. Grrrrrrr! Makes me so mad.

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  3. This breaks my heart the horrible truth is people don't care they have the information and still let their digs duffer and due. I hope this man is prevented from ever owning a pet again but I doubt that is possible
    Urban hounds

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    1. I doubt that is possible either, but it would be some kind of justice...banning him from ever owning a pet again.

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  4. Momma says she would've smashed the window and hauled those dogs out! Poor things. :(

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  5. AnonymousJune 18, 2013

    Thank you, Oz. This is important. We do weather reminers, too. People need to reminded often. ~xo~

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    1. Unfortunately, they do need to be reminded often. One would think they would use common sense, but as Ma always points out: it should be called "uncommon" sense since so few people possess it.

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  6. That is so sad. It keeps happening over and over. i just get how people can be do careless leave your dogs home. thanks for posting up the tip.

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    1. I don't know how anyone can do that to a pet. It is just terrible.

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  7. Yep I received the email and have a series of posts scheduled about it.....some of them I wrote along with the infographics, some of them I just posted the infographic

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    1. Excellent! Obviously, we need to remind people...every day of the year.

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  8. Oz we hope they throw the book at him. There is no excuse for such ignorance. Have a terrific Tuesday.
    Best wishes Molly
    PS no worries re replying... not sure if we have said this but we don't see them on blogger and we'd have to come back tomorrow to view them and we'd probably forget. I think this commenting is more a Wordpress thing.

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  9. We have a stack of pamphlets we keep in our car and if we ever see a dog left in a car we pop one under there windshield wiper - it explains the dangers of how quickly a car can heat up. I have no qualms about calling animal control though and if I saw a dog in distress in a car - if need be I would find a way to get it out.

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    1. That is a brilliant idea, keeping the pamphlets in the car!

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  10. We would break the windows also. Just don't understand how people can be so cruel.
    Reilly and Denny have a great idea,keeping the flyers in their car.

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    1. I agree that is a pawesome idea Reilly and Denny have!

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  11. Always a good reminder
    Snorts,
    Benny & Lily

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    1. Hopefully, someone who is thinking of doing the same thing will think twice!

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  12. You know my Momz Oz...she's not exactly shy...she'd be right there with your Mom finding a brick and smashing open that car...and then finding that stupid owner and giving them some very bad words...whatever happens to this owner is not enough for what he did

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    1. Oh, I know your mom, Giz and you are 100% correct...she would be all over that stupid owner like flies on poop!!! I don't even know what "penalties" the charges bring. I should look to find out.

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  13. That is so awful! The only thing that remotely makes mom feel better is that those same morons leave their own babies in cars too so it is not necessarily a pet thing but how could they! Mom would call 911 but if the dogs were not alert she would bust in to help them if she could.

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    1. Stupid owners beware. We are all coming to bust out your windows!

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  14. My Mom would have busted the windows too. Unfortunately they don't test for stupid when humans get puppies/dogs/babies.
    Stay cool Oz.
    Wags,
    Ranger

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  15. I'm a little nervous about busting someone's window. But I'd probably do it after about five minutes and not finding the owner, unless the dogs had obviously already been in the car for a bit. I should probably find out the local laws for that.

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    1. Good thinking, Miss Flea. I can see the stupid owner trying to press charges against someone if they broke the window...but again, that's just stupid because the person breaking the window is trying to save a life.

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  16. It's really great that more people are becoming active when they see a dog in a hot car these days. A lady once brought her dog to the clinic because she left it in a hot car and it was also suffering heat exhaustion. The receptionist, who was there at the time took it to the back to cool it off in the tub and it died right there. Can you believe the dog's owner had the nerve to get mad at her and blame the dog's death on her? Humans!

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    1. Miss Ann, I can absolutely believe that! Humans who are rescucitated then try and blame the responder for breaking their ribs and such. Give me a break! You're alive, aren't you?!? Geeze.

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  17. What kind of idiot leaves dogs in a car when it is 90? People just don't think.

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    1. Thank you. There are so many idiots out there, it is unbelievable.

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  18. Just really terrible for such not caring dog owners. Just stupid and awful. He should not get his dogs back. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar

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    1. I hope he can never have a pet again since he KILLED two already.

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  19. AnonymousJune 19, 2013

    Oh, how terrible. Those poor pups. As much as we pups love going on car trips, sometimes it is a much better idea to leave us safe at home!

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  20. I swear dogs are smarter than people....
    Kisses,
    Ruby

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  21. It upsets us so much when we see animals left in cars! The last time we saw this, it was very hot outside. We called the police, and went into every surrounding store and had them make announcements about the poor dog. Finally, a woman came out and said that yes, it was her dog, and that she hadn't been in the store very long. Not true ... we were out there for at least 30 minutes. We were so disgusted by her apparent lack of sense or concern for her dog.

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    1. Unbelievable! Some people have no sense at all!

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  22. Sound advices Oz my chum...is un-beleevable there is still peeple wot do not kno this stuff...should not be allowed to ave doggies wivout gettin this lesson from the git-go

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    1. I agree 100% Marley. I don't know how many times people need to be reminded?!? They wouldn't want to be stuck in hot car for hours!

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  23. Oz you did a pawsome job educating with such horribly sad news. Some people! grrrr!
    Hugs,
    Pepper

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    1. Thanks Pepper. It so sad that there was a recent story to use as an example. We are still barkless over the whole situation.

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  24. just two weeks ago dogster reported about a woman that left her poodles in her hot car for 20 hours! unfortunately her story had the same tragic ending as your story :( it's got to be a horrible death. i can't imagine the suffering that must go on before they finally succumb to the heat. my heart just breaks for all these precious dogs.
    wags, bailey unleashed

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  25. That's so awful! Can't believe people would be that stupid/neglectful.

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Thank you for stopping by and leaving a pawprint. I enjoy reading each and every one!
Cairn cuddles,
Oz the Terrier