RANT – Leaving your dog in a frozen car

[cjboffoli]

To the person who decided it was OK to leave your dog locked inside your frozen car on California while you were inside by the fire at Matador. It’s 23 degrees outside. Wouldn’t you have been better off leaving the dog at home?

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[mellaw6565]

I can’t wait to find that person so I can slap the crap out of them! Idiot!

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[cjboffoli]

The poor dog looked pretty distressed. It had a plastic baggie hanging out of its mouth. Looked like it was chewing nervously on something.

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[mellaw6565]

I wonder if the police would do anything about it.

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[cjboffoli]

Yeah, I was wondering about that too. I feel bad doing nothing. But about 30 minutes have passed now since I saw this and the person could very well have already left. I thought it was a Subaru at first but I looked closer and it is a light blue Toyota. WA plate 358 VZM

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[mellaw6565]

Let’s hope they’ve headed home by now – if I was closer I’d check but I’ve been out in this all day and I’m beat. Poor dog!

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[cjboffoli]

I only live a couple of blocks away but it is actually very fatiguing walking in deep snow. I was up there in the vicinity shooting pictures for at least 15 minutes and never saw anyone come out to the car to check on the dog. I saw a lot of behavior out there tonight, this included, that was really disappointing.

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[mellaw6565]

Me too – the snow has really brought out the stupidity in people.

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[Traci]

:(

People suck SO MUCH sometimes.

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[JanS]

cold weather and snow causes the smart brain cells to freeze, and leaves the stoopid ones active.

WTF were they thinking? Besides…just stay home on a night like tonight…learn how to cook your own food, make your own drinks…how damned difficult could that possibly be?

And tomorrow that dog will still love it’s owner …wish that it could just turn on them just a little bit (an ankle, not a neck – lol)

reminds me…about a toast…maybe we should toast this person:

The Travellers’ Curse after Misdirection

(from the Welsh)

May they stumble, stage by stage

On an endless Pilgrimage

Dawn and dusk, mile after mile

At each and every step a stile

At each and every step withal

May they catch their feet and fall

At each and every fall they take

May a bone within them break

And may the bone that breaks within

Not be, for variations sake

Now rib, now thigh, now arm, now shin

but always, without fail, the NECK

Robert Graves

well, not a toast….but fitting…

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[JoB]

Sometimes things are not what they seem…

i don’t know how long the owner was in the matador.. but the hood of the car shows snow melt from the engine and i don’t see any glistening ice around the edges …

so maybe not so long.

the plastic bag is a very bad thing though.

some dogs will get into anything and it is not smart to leave a plastic bag where they can find it… even if it is buried in a garbage container with a spring loaded lid…

i say this from experience…

my dogs really are safer in the car when i go out than they are at home because it is easier to control the environment in the car…

But i do agree that a cold car is as dangerous to our pets as a hot one.. and everyone should be more careful.

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[sassy]

I cannot convey how much this angers + frustrates me. Where is the common sense?

We were having lunch at Elliot Bay on Thursday – and a sweet Sheperd dog was tied up outside for over 20 minutes. I went to say hi to him when we left, and he was shivering. Out in the cold – standing on cement covered in ice.

How stupid can you be?

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[JimmyG]

Call Seattle Animal Control and report it.

They’ve been very responsive to me on following up on situations like this.

You have the photo, plate, everything SAC needs for you to file a complaint.

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[cjboffoli]

JoB: I hear what you’re saying but I’m not sure I agree. No matter how warm the interior of the car is while you’re driving, it gets very cold as soon as you turn the engine off. All that glass and metal are wonderful conductors of cold. Even if you argue the dog has a fur coat, with the wind chill last night that person was taking a real chance leaving their animal in an unheated space for that long. And that goes for people tying up their dogs outside in the freezing cold too. Dogs can be just as susceptible as humans to hypothermia and frostbite.

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[mrhineh]

“Hypothermia occurs when an animal cannot keep its body temperature from falling below the normal 101 F to 102 F. This is a serious condition and can result in death. Pets should stay indoors during extreme weather conditions. If the temperature falls below 20 F, it is too cold for most pets to be outside. Also, pets that are very young, thin, old or ill will have an even harder time tolerating cold weather and should be kept indoors as much as possible.”

http://www.parade.com/pets/pet-chat/archive/when-is-it-too-cold-to-leave-my-dog-outside.html

Some say below 20, some say below 40. Depends on breed, size and age.

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[guidosmom]

SO Sad. :( We saw a lab tied outside of Shadowland on Friday night. The poor dog looked COLD, and I really hope the owner just ran in quickly. As we drove away it was being walked away, hopefully it hadn’t been out long.

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[mrhineh]

BTW, how did you know that they were by the fire at Matador? Guess??

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[Cait]

That dog needs a good cuddle :( I would have busted the window open and taken it home with me to sit by the fire. :(

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[cjboffoli]

They were parked just outside of Matador and it was the only thing open on that side of the block.

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[mrhineh]

So you are guessing. Why not go inside and and bust on them, instead of here?

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[Cait]

Generally confronting someone dumb enough to do this ends badly. If you’re cruel enough to leave your dog in the car, who knows how they’d react. I think you did the right thing – I just hope someone called the authorities.

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[mellaw6565]

Ok Mr. Hiney – thanks for the advice. Geez……

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[JoB]

i have to report that i left my two shibas in the minivan in the junction for nearly 45 minutes today.

when i returned they were curled up sleeping and their body heat had kept the car warmer than outside.. it was still well above 30 degrees.

I admit, these two have arctic coats and spitz tails to bury their noses in.. much the same as wearing a fur lined parka hood…

but still…

they were warmer than i was…

we did walk them first.. and we returned to the car to sit with them while we waited for my daughter to finish visiting her friend…

but they were in the car alone..

and i am quite sure someone probably thought we were monsters if they noticed the dogs.

This is one of those things that really is an individual judgment call… but when you have dogs like mine who prefer the snow… it’s an easy one to make.

Not all breeds would do as well.

But generally speaking if you are the kind of person who takes their dog with you, you are also likely to be very aware of their environment…

i would never leave my dog unattended outside.. in any weather. I wouldn’t trust strangers not to feed my dog something harmful.. or turn it loose.. or….

That’s why they are always safely locked in the car.

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[mrhineh]

Right, so posting their photo, car license and all is the way to handle it. Then accuse and talk trash about them without them being able to defend their actions. Maybe they were visiting the offices above Matador. Ready! Fire! Aim!

Talk about passive agressive!!

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[mrhineh]

Cait, do you think JoB is cruel?

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