Quote: dana martin

I discovered a little dog locked inside barking it's head off.

One of my dogs is a hefty 3.5 pounds. I wouldn't leave her in a cold car for any length of time. I would/do leave my GSD for a longer period of time. Perhaps Dana was more disturbed that it was a "little" dog.

 Quote: tammy moore

 Quote: dana martin

I discovered a little dog locked inside barking it's head off.

One of my dogs is a hefty 3.5 pounds. I wouldn't leave her in a cold car for any length of time. I would/do leave my GSD for a longer period of time. Perhaps Dana was more disturbed that it was a "little" dog.

Tammy,
Exactly. I wouldn't have worried if it was a big dog. Unfortunately with the tinted windows I couldn't tell if the little guy was a chihuahua or other little dog that wouldn't have the body composition to keep warm.

I used to take my big male to work everyday (30 mile commute from home) and subsequently took him everywhere and left him in the car. He loves the car but is rather "barky" at people who are near it. I was always terrified that someone would call the police. I knew he was fine - windows cracked, double coat, etc. but worried about well-meaning interfering animal lovers! ;-) What happens if the police get called?

Not sure, but I would imagine if the dog is ok they wouldn't do anything other than just checking with you. I believe they do have to tell you that someone reported it and tell you who if you ask (at least they do here in WA).

If i hadn't been so concerned about this being a little dog left in the freezing cold, I wouldn't have called the police. A big dog I wouldn't have worried about.

If I was a cop and got called out on this I'd give you a ticket for wasting my time. Seriously, you called the cops on somebody at the gym cause you thought their dog would be cold??? Really? If you're on here i'm assuming you own a dog right?

I also take my dogs in my van in colder weather. I have two crates in the back. Overall, I think it all depends on how acclimated the dog is to the temperature. I wouldn't take a dog that was used to 80 degrees and leave them in the car if it is 10 degrees. Just have to be sensible about it.

I would not beat myself up over this, one way or the other-- you thought you were
doing the right thing.

FWIW- My italian greyhound yaps like crazy when I leave her in the car in town(which I do frequently, even when it is 0) not because she is cold, but because she has separation anxiety.

I absolutely would not beat myself up for doing what I thought what was right at the time. (That is not true; yes, I would obcess about it for too long... :blush

Just like when officers have to make a split second decision when on the job, and then the public has the luxury of reading all the facts, knowing all the details, etc... and passing judgement - you did what you thought was best for the animal at the time. Now, with more input, you may or may not do it again, but regardless, you erred on the side of caution.

I can picture a police officer rolling his eyes and bitching to his / her buddies on this call, but if my hubby had ever written a ticket for someone trying to do the right thing to protect an animal, well, ummmm... let's just say "brrrrrrrr". No disrespect Al - I understand where you are coming from. On a slow night, it could be interpreted as a frivilious complaint and might have given them something about which to chuckle at shift's end. They need something to chuckle about from time to time...

Better that someone over reacted rather than ignored something about which they were concerned.

 Quote: Barbara Schuler

... Better that someone over reacted rather than ignored something about which they were concerned.

Definitely.

Dana,
If I felt the dog was in jeopardy I would have gone back into the gym with a description of the car and the license plate # and asked an employee if they could page the owner since I thought the dog was in distress.

But since I avoid the gym at all costs.....I wouldn't have been in this situation.

Moral of the story; gyms are bad!