Leaving a dog in the car

kellyfromcali · March 2009

So I live in an apartment complex. There is a car parked in the building across from us that has left their dog in it for a little over an hour. Is that acceptable? Its sunny and 45 degrees here. The dog doesnt seem upset, but it just seems like a long time to be in the car when the owners are inside. I dont know who the car belongs to, but I guess I could call housing and let them know. Do you guys feel comfortable leaving your dog in the car for that long? Mine would freak out, but I know some dogs like the car.

Pennylane824 · March 2009

I would never leave me dog in the car.......... I don't think it is okay

Danse · March 2009

I do not think it's acceptable at all to leave an animal in the car for that long. I'd call animal control and see what they say. It's not fair to the dog and it can get way hotter in the car than it is outside.

september2006 · March 2009

My dogs love the car. I bring them everywhere with me, since they get excited any time they hear the keys. I don't think I have ever left them in the car for an hour, but I would not worry if they look comfortable and it is only 45 degrees. I would be more worried if it were 80 degrees out and they were freaking out.

greenclown · March 2009

Danse:
I do not think it's acceptable at all to leave an animal in the car for that long. I'd call animal control and see what they say. It's not fair to the dog and it can get way hotter in the car than it is outside.

?I agree?

dmogmo · March 2009

IMO, this is not ok ever. Even in "cooler" weather the temperature can be so much greater inside the car.

ETA: this is also illegal in many places I believe...

Anna&Matt · March 2009

I think it's completely unacceptable unless the car is running to regulate the temperature inside. Still though an hour is way too long - I sometimes leave my dog in the car for 15 mins if I need to run into the grocery store, but I always leave the car running for her and lock it from the outside.

nikkifudgestick · March 2009

I would definitely not be comfortable with that. Not only would my dog not be comfortable with it, I don't think it's right for that long.

If the car is off, they would undoubtedly have the windows cracked, in which case, what happens if someone decides to steal the car? In a case that I heard of they stole the car and killed the dog. Then you're left carless and dogless. (I realize this isn't likely, but I still wouldn't try it.)

And if they don't have the windows cracked I would think that at some point it would stuffy in there regardless of how it feels outside.

I hate it when people leave their animals in the car for such a long time. Too many things can go wrong there IMO.

mrsmacias2008 · March 2009

I don't even like that people drive with their dogs in the car and they are half out of the window! I would call someone. Even though it's cool outside, the dog might be uncomfortable, plus someone could come and steal him!

MamaKlein · March 2009

I don't think I'd ever leave my dogs in the car unless someone was in there, too. I'm waaaay too paranoid.

lo45fd98wq32 · March 2009

Lucy loves the car. I might leave her in the car for 5 minutes to run into the post office or something, but never longer than that, and I wouldn't do that on a day over 50 or 60 degrees. The interior of my car is black and it gets hot very quick.

mrsDinMarch07 · March 2009

Devil's advocate here - at 45 degrees there is no way the inside of the car is going to go above 80. Normally I am livid when I see pets in cars but really I dont' think it's going to overheat in this situation. I would say the bigger problem is the dog probably has no water, and over 2 hours with no water may be a concern.

kellyfromcali · March 2009

fredalina:
i think it's okay if the temperature is low and they're?comfortable, but i'm not a huge fan of it.? It becomes too much of?a habit, and in hot weather it can get way too hot?within?5 or 10 minutes.? An hour seems kind of long.
That said, i once left my dog in my car most of a day.? It was March, DH and i?planned a trip to Atlanta to go to Six Flags, found a hotel that allowed dogs, etc, and planned to?put him in the kennel there when we went to the park.? Guess what?? They don't have a cage big enough for my dog!? They had told me on the phone they had "luxury accommodations" for any size dog, but they didn't count on a 150 pound Great Dane apparently, who was 36" at the shoulder.? We'd already paid for the trip and everything, so we went ahead and parked the car away from other cars, cracked the windows, put water out, and went to the park.? i have a big cargo area in my car, though, so that helped.? We checked on him about every 45 minutes, walked him around, and left early after going on the best rides.? Lines were short since it was off-season, so that was good.? And it was a cool, overcast day.? Not something i'd recommend, but we were desperate!

?

I can understand this- this is a rare circumstance, but these people do it quite often. Never for this long though. I cant see if he is still in the car. Maybe I will go check.?

dmogmo · March 2009

mrsDinMarch07:
Devil's advocate here - at 45 degrees there is no way the inside of the car is going to go above 80. Normally I am livid when I see pets in cars but really I dont' think it's going to overheat in this situation. I would say the bigger problem is the dog probably has no water, and over 2 hours with no water may be a concern.

This could depend on the dog. My dog probably wouldn't tolerate it well if it "only" got to 80 in a car and there was little to no air circulation. Plus, as you say, without water the combined conditions could lead to dehydration. Not worth it to me.

CassieD · March 2009

Like some of the others, I would say that it's probably ok if it's only 45 outside. I've left my dog in the car on a cool day for maybe 15-20 minutes while I ran into the store. I think the bigger problem is that it's been out there for so long. I'd be worried about it not having water, or at least I'd be wondering how much longer the owners were going to leave it there.

pixy_stix · March 2009

Something to keep in mind: Our local vet teaching hospital sees an increase of dogs suffering heat stroke from being left in the car in early spring. They see more cases when the weather gets mild than they do in the middle of summer. I do think it has to be ~50 degrees or greater outside, though, before leaving a dog in the car matters.

Kailyn S · March 2009

My dogs both love the car, if DH and I are out running errands, we usually try and take them. That being said, we never leave them in there for more than 15-20 mins at a time. That being said an hour is kind of a long time, but it's not super hot out, and if the dog doesn't seem upset at all, I think calling animal control might be a little excessive. I think calling housing and having them pop by the building across from you wouldn't be a bad idea though.

nikkifudgestick · March 2009

diana82:

mrsDinMarch07:
Devil's advocate here - at 45 degrees there is no way the inside of the car is going to go above 80. Normally I am livid when I see pets in cars but really I dont' think it's going to overheat in this situation. I would say the bigger problem is the dog probably has no water, and over 2 hours with no water may be a concern.

This could depend on the dog. My dog probably wouldn't tolerate it well if it "only" got to 80 in a car and there was little to no air circulation. Plus, as you say, without water the combined conditions could lead to dehydration. Not worth it to me.

This exactly.

ETA* And just because the dog isn't acting funny doesn't mean he's not too hot or dehydrated. When we got my pup from the pound he was overheated and a little dehydrated and hardly moved.

horizon1322 · March 2009

Danse:
I do not think it's acceptable at all to leave an animal in the car for that long. I'd call animal control and see what they say. It's not fair to the dog and it can get way hotter in the car than it is outside.

This, especially since you said they do it often.

mrsDinMarch07 · March 2009

diana82:

This could depend on the dog. My dog probably wouldn't tolerate it well if it "only" got to 80 in a car and there was little to no air circulation. Plus, as you say, without water the combined conditions could lead to dehydration. Not worth it to me.

I'm not saying the dog is comfortable (though, I think OP said it looked ok?), but animal control is more concerned with their welfare than comfort. I still wouldn't leave a dog in the car for an hour anyway, but if the question is whether to call animal control I'd say not yet. I mean in the summer if you don't have air conditioning a house can heat above 90+, and dogs and people manage.

dmogmo · March 2009

mrsDinMarch07:
diana82:

This could depend on the dog. My dog probably wouldn't tolerate it well if it "only" got to 80 in a car and there was little to no air circulation. Plus, as you say, without water the combined conditions could lead to dehydration. Not worth it to me.

I'm not saying the dog is comfortable (though, I think OP said it looked ok?), but animal control is more concerned with their welfare than comfort. I still wouldn't leave a dog in the car for an hour anyway, but if the question is whether to call animal control I'd say not yet. I mean in the summer if you don't have air conditioning a house can heat above 90+, and dogs and people manage.

I should clarify - by tolerate I don't mean comfort necessarily - I mean I don't think she would do well in it period. As another post noted, just like with people, they might not act uncomfortable but that doesn't mean that dehydration hasn't set in.

charlies-angel · March 2009

I leave my dog in the car if I run in a store, post office, or quick errand. But not for over an hour. Usually its no more than 20 minutes. And not when its too hot out either. I would be concerned if I saw a dog in a car for an hour.

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