When I was perusing the pet products at a hardware store on a fairly warm day, I encountered a woman shopping with her dog. We discussed her pooch’s unusual appearance (Australian Shepherd mixed with Border Collie!) and I learned her name was Sophie (the dog, not the woman).
As her mom showed off Sophie’s tricks, proving she’s super-smart as well as beautiful, I commented on the fact that she brought Sophie into the store rather than leave her in a hot car. She knew she risked the ire of the other shoppers but she said, “She’s my baby; I wouldn’t leave a real baby in the car either!”
Good point.
My brother is so devoted to Biggs, his Miniature Australian Shepherd, that if he has to leave him in the car on even a slightly warm day, he leaves the AC running. Of course this means the engine is running as well. He’s risking a carjacking as well as a dognapping. Such are the choices of a devoted dog daddy!
When I was a dog’s mama, I learned where the shadiest parking places were at each store where I shop. I was careful to leave the windows open only enough for air and not a burglar’s hands… my brother once had his gorgeous Siberian Husky stolen out of his car. (Hence the decision to keep the car windows up and the AC on for his current pooch!)
I also went to extremes by training myself to shop very, very quickly whenever my dog was in the car, and saved quite a bit of money that way! Tip #1: Always have a shopping list. Tip #2: Keep a running shopping list on your phone, one for each store you shop at. Tip #3: Organize your list by following the store’s layout, and always start at the same aisle. Ready, set, shop!
What are your tips for keeping your dog safe in a car this summer? If you take your animals into establishments that are usually off-limits for pets, would you comment below, please?
Some of your ideas about leaving dogs in cars were entertaining, but I have decided never, ever, to leave a dog in a car at all unless it’s in cool weather where I can have eyes on the car from a window seat. So many things can go wrong and keep you from getting back to the car and even in moderately warm temperatures, the temperature in a car can soar quickly.
Also, I have met people who have had their windows broken out and their babies stolen in literally seconds after they parked. If I wouldn’t leave a baby (and of course you would NEVER leave a baby), I won’t leave a dog. Even plain ol’ mutts will be stolen by “bunchers” who sell them for medical research.
I met a couple at a car show who were carrying their little poodle and would barely even let her down to pee. They said it was the first time they would even take her anywhere in a year because they had two and left them in a car in cool weather while they ran into a store. They came back to find windows broken out and the dogs gone.
After a few days’ search and in response to a tip, they found a guy in a store parking lot trying to sell one of them. He claimed he found her wandering around a Home Depot parking lot and she was alone. They were pretty sure he had stolen them and had already sold the other one. They paid him $800 to get her back.
The husband was so traumatized that he wouldn’t allow her out of the house and yard (and then only on a leash). That was the first time they had dared to take her anywhere and only in their arms.
Only safe way to leave your dog in the car is with the vehicle running and the air conditioner on, providing you have a dog like mine that would attack anyone coming near my vehicle. But, I take him in stores, restaurants, etc., he is a licensed service dog so there is never a problem. There are ways to have your dog licensed as a service dog that aren’t to expensive. The dog has to pass various classes.
This is very helpful, Jan! I never would have thought of registering an animal as a service dog so you can bring him or her into establishments where pets aren’t normally permitted. Thanks for contributing this gem.
Thanks so much, Mary Ann. I hope your cautionary tale helps someone avoid such a tragedy!