In Which I *Want* To Call 911 But Can't.

[ralerin]

There seems to be a rash of fucking stupid females in my area.

Today, a car dealer locked her tiny lapdog in her car. Unlike yesterday's thread, today is a much sunnier and hotter day outside. Dog is in obvious distress, panting, tongue hanging to the floor of the freshly primped and polished SUV. No water in sight. Owner has disappeared.

Why couldn't I call the cops? 2 Reasons:

1. It isn't actually illegal in my state to lock your animal in your hot car on a hot day. I wish it was.

2. I had no cell phone and Dad, who was giving me a ride home, told me not to bother calling because of reason #1.

That poor animal.

Edit: Whoops. It IS illegal. Here is the law that says that.

[Sapphire Silk]

Are you sure about that? I thought all states have animal neglect laws.

[chainedbarista]

hmm, i have to agree with panacea; leaving a dog (or any creature) in a hot car on a hot day is abuse and is reportable/punishable by law in the majority of states (i can't say all, since i'm not completely sure of that).

[Sleepwalker]

I had that happen last summer. Puppy locked in a car. I called the non emergency line, and had the store put a page out on the intercom, but it took 15 minutes before she appeared with her groceries.

She tried to tell me she had been in the store for less than ten minutes. I showed her the time stamp on my cell call to the police, and she at least made a show of letting the dog outside for a breather. She didn't do the OMG HOW DARE YOU routine, so I hope she thought twice about leaving her puppy next time.

[LillFilly]

Unfortunately, in a lot of places the police can't or won't do anything unless the animal is at death's door, as the animal is property and the vehicle counts as private property. If you save the animal, the owner can go after you for damage to the vehicle, trespassing, etc. It's a sad world.

[bainsidhe]

Unfortunately, in a lot of places the police can't or won't do anything unless the animal is at death's door, as the animal is property and the vehicle counts as private property. If you save the animal, the owner can go after you for damage to the vehicle, trespassing, etc. It's a sad world.

*sigh* Saw a poor dog last summer. The day itself was like 84, but inside my own car was an oven. Went inside the grocer and they told me they couldn't call the cops. I could, but they couldn't. So I called non-emergency, where the guy told me that the teeny little window crack should be enough for the dog. After all, it was only in the 80s. Fortunately the guy came out right at that moment, because I was seeing red.

[Treasure]

a couple of years ago, my mom was dropping my grandmother off at her apt, and they had decided to take the dog with them... mom left the car running (ac too!) while she helped grandma unload her stuff (i think they went shopping, then stopped at mom's before taking G'ma [and puppy along] home)

when grandma went to close her door she hit the "lock" button, and her door was the last one closed, thereby locking all the doors, and the dog inside, with the engine still running - mom was able to call the non-emergency line, and they sent the fire dept - so they could pry open the car - as in my city (if not state) any small (i e not 15 yo + child or any pet) "creature" it is considered an emergency,

Yes mom was embarrassed; yes the firemen told her they were glad that 1) the ac was still on, and 2) she called right away - and that she called them and not a locksmith (she would've had to pay, and there's no telling how long it could take one to get to her)

[Kogarashi]

a couple of years ago, my mom was dropping my grandmother off at her apt, and they had decided to take the dog with them... mom left the car running (ac too!) while she helped grandma unload her stuff (i think they went shopping, then stopped at mom's before taking G'ma [and puppy along] home)

when grandma went to close her door she hit the "lock" button, and her door was the last one closed, thereby locking all the doors, and the dog inside, with the engine still running - mom was able to call the non-emergency line, and they sent the fire dept - so they could pry open the car - as in my city (if not state) any small (i e not 15 yo + child or any pet) "creature" it is considered an emergency,

Yes mom was embarrassed; yes the firemen told her they were glad that 1) the ac was still on, and 2) she called right away - and that she called them and not a locksmith (she would've had to pay, and there's no telling how long it could take one to get to her)

Stuff like this is why I'm glad we have an emergency spare key. Though I think our vehicle won't let us lock and then shut all the doors if it's running. Safety feature or something.

[Falor]

*sigh* Saw a poor dog last summer. The day itself was like 84, but inside my own car was an oven. Went inside the grocer and they told me they couldn't call the cops. I could, but they couldn't. So I called non-emergency, where the guy told me that the teeny little window crack should be enough for the dog. After all, it was only in the 80s. Fortunately the guy came out right at that moment, because I was seeing red.

This sort of thing makes it worthwhile to call Animal Control (or whatever the name for it in your municipality/county/parish/etc. is) directly. My wife spent a decade as an ACO (until her knees couldn't get in and out of an F350 anymore) and she went on numerous calls like that. With PD as back up to do what was needed to get the vehicle opened and help give the ticket for Animal Cruelty/Neglect/whatever they termed it, just in case the perpetrator got an attitude about the 'animal ticket.'

Most of your field officers for an animal control agency are in the job because they love the animals (there's always the exceptions, but well, that's always the case). And while it upsets them that the situation occurred, they'd rather be told about it and try to do something than get called out later because the irresponsible owner got distracted in the store for too long and the poor creature had heat stroke and/or died.

[Ironclad Alibi]

Several summers ago, around noon on a hot day, Mrs. IA and I were walking through a large parking lot to go to a craft show and saw a policeman standing next to a car with a broken window. A small scared dog was inside on the far side of the car. The policeman was waiting for the owner to return. I would have liked to hear what was said to the owner for that act of stupidity.

[Andara Bledin]

Unfortunately, in a lot of places the police can't or won't do anything unless the animal is at death's door, as the animal is property and the vehicle counts as private property. If you save the animal, the owner can go after you for damage to the vehicle, trespassing, etc. It's a sad world.

I would very strongly suggest that all animal lovers make a point of knowing their state's laws regarding this issue.

In New Hampshire, for example, any law enforcement officer or licensed humane organization agent is allowed to take "any action necessary" to ensure the safety of the animal and is protected from prosecution for so doing.

The same goes for California, but we have additional stipulations that require that the pet owner pay all fees in relation to the care of the rescued animal be paid before the animal may be claimed.

Fun fact, courtesy of the California driver handbook: The inside of a parked car can get to be 40-50 degrees hotter than outside, even with the windows cracked.

As a guideline it goes on to state, "Remember, if it's too hot for you, it's too hot for your child or pet."

^-.-^

[SemperFi]

Depending on where you are, these calls are taken pretty seriously. Our dispatchers are pretty good about getting in contact with a manager at the business the car is parked near and the managers are always great about checking on the animal and giving us a second opinion (people lie to us quite often). Plus, as mentioned in another post, the manager can hopefully get in touch with the owner before we can even get there. If not, most police personnel are, in my experience, pro-canine and will always go and check on the animal at the very least.

[Dreamstalker]

One summer mom and I were at a mall and I saw a dark-colored car parked in full sun with one window cracked about the width of my pinky, with a scared little Shiba in the back seat. The outside temp was about 90, I wanted to call 911/the MSPCA emergency line but mom thought pretty much the same as ralerin's mom (which doesn't make sense, we have some pretty comprehensive animal-welfare laws which probably include a Good Samaritan clause). She went inside the mall; I poured some water on a bandana and poked it through the window and the poor thing lapped it up. I was seriously considering finding some way to at least unlock the door.

All that mall security could do was page the car's owner, but an employee did come out to watch the dog (from what he said, it would be better that a uniformed guard met the owner or took any needed action).