A B.C. man who called the police after finding a dog left in a hot car on Sunday afternoon (Aug. 16) as temperatures soared up to 36 C is asking pet owners to do better this summer.
The man wishes to remain anonymous, but says it was a shock to come across the family of three rolling up their windows and walking into the Capri Mall, leaving the dog in the front seat of the car.
"I stood there and I went, well no... wait a minute, maybe someone's going to run right back?"
After waiting another three seconds, the man confronted the family and called the police to report the situation.
Within 15 minutes police arrived on scene and contacted Mario's Towing to get the window of the red Mitsubishi opened for the dog.
"During that time people were trying to find these people in the grocery store and they couldn't find them.
"In that time if the dog started getting worse the police were going to move to breaking the window, but at this time we were still calling Mario's Towing to try and gain a different way of access to the vehicle."
The owner came out of the grocery store shortly afterwards and was spoken to by police, who also recommended the incident be reported to the BC SPCA.
The man who witnessed the event says what shocked him most was the seemingly apathetic response from the dog owner.
"I've seen a situation where there's a dog in the car and people go scrambling into the Walmart, and the person comes out and people yell and scream at the individual and you see a bit of that epiphany and the remorse in that individual. You see people instantly go 'wow, I really screwed up.' It kind of scares them into it ... this guy literally said to me, it's just a stupid ******** dog."
If you find a dog or animal in distress inside a parked vehicle, BC SPCA recommends:
- Note the license plate, vehicle colour, make and model and ask managers of nearby businesses to page the owner to return to their vehicle immediately
- If the animal is not showing signs of distress, but you are concerned, you may wish to stay by the vehicle to monitor the situation until the owner returns
- If the animal is showing clear signs of heatstroke or other distress symptoms, call your local animal control agency, police, RCMP or the BC SPCA Call Centre at 1-855-622-7722 as soon as possible.
- The BC SPCA has a limited number of constables – if one is not available in the area the Call Centre can advise you about other emergency numbers to call so that help will arrive as quickly as possible
- Do not break the window - only RCMP, local police and BC SPCA Special Constables have the legal authority to enter a vehicle to assist a pet in distress.
- Not only do you risk harming yourself, but you also risk harming the pet.
(via Contributed)
