A day for running errands turned into a mission to save a dog on Sunday.
The sky was clear and my car’s dashboard told me it was 89 degrees outside. A nice breeze kept the day just shy of scorching.
At my destination, I parked and put the sunshade behind the windshield. Midway between my car and the storefront, I heard a dog bark.
With little shade in this parking lot, I knew there was a good chance the dog was unhappy and perhaps hot.
Sure enough, a dog was barking from inside a closed car. The tinted windows were shut to within an inch of the roof-line.
I hesitated. Should I?
Maybe the owner will come out … right now.
But the owner did not materialize, so I pulled out my phone and called Orange Police Department’s non-emergency number.
I reported the dog in the presumably hot car (the engine wasn’t running and I could not spy anyone sitting inside), and then went inside the store. My mission: Find the store manager and see if we could hail the owner with the overhead speaker system.
The store manager acted quickly, and within a few minutes, a man approached the front desk with a few items in his arms. He said the dog hadn’t been in the car very long. He then got in line to pay for his clothes.
| I’ve done some homework for our readers and found non-emergency phone numbers to Orange County police departments and the Sheriff’s Department. Click here to see the list. |
My heart was pounding hard. I didn’t want to make trouble, but I don’t think this man understood. Even with tinted windows, the car’s interior could ascend to suffocatingly hot temperatures in just a few minutes.
Rather than make a scene, I waited to see who got to the car first: the owner or the police.
The police did.
Today I called to find out what happened, and Orange PD told me the registered owner of the car was warned. The dog was not in distress, so the officers offered some stern advice and let the man get on his way.
Message delivered, I do hope.
Here are more details about dogs and hot cars:
Penal Code 597.7 Animal in Unattended Motor Vehicle states:
(a) No person shall leave or confine an animal in any unattended motor vehicle under conditions that endanger the health or well-being of an animal due to heat, cold, lack of adequate ventilation, or lack of food or water, or other circumstances that could reasonably be expected to cause suffering, disability, or death to the animal.
Penal Code 597a Unnecessary Torture, Suffering or Cruelty to Animal in Vehicle states:
Whoever carries or causes to be carried in or upon any vehicle or otherwise any domestic animal in a cruel or inhuman manner, or knowingly and willfully authorizes or permits it to be subjected to unnecessary torture, suffering or cruelty of any kind is guilty of a misdemeanor.
If you do believe the animal is in distress, O.C. Animal Control and the Sheriff’s Department both recommend you call a non-emergency number for the local police department.
“We will aggressively enforce animal cruelty of this nature,” says Jim Amormino, spokesman with the Sheriff’s Department.
“This happens a lot more than it should,” Amormino says. “I don’t know what people are thinking. Picture yourself in the car … it’s a lot worse for a dog in a fur coat.”
Amormino says some dog owners believe the work of the air conditioner will keep the car cooler even after the engine is turned off. Not so, he says.
“On a hot day, if you have the AC going, if you shut that engine, in a matter of minutes that car will be 100 degrees.”
The fluff was flying when police in suburban Detroit zapped a large stuffed cat with a stun gun while responding to an emergency call about a cougar on the loose.
