Several years ago while living in North Carolina I was shocked to see a Basset Hound in the cab of a black pickup truck. Not that there's anything wrong with dogs being in a vehicle. The problem was the temperature. The outside temperature had already climbed to over eighty degrees. The owner of the truck had left the window cracked several inches to allow air to flow into the truck, but the poor Basset Hound was in obvious distress. When I looked at her she was panting and drooling at the same time. I had just pulled into the parking lot and had my trusty water bottle with me. I dug around in my car and located a paper plate to put water in/on for the dog & slid the plate in the window of the truck. It wasn't much but the dog lapped greedily at it. I was glad to be able to help at least that much. I waited about ten minutes for the owner to show up. When no one was forthcoming, I went inside the store (Lowes) and had Customer Service page the truck's owner. No one showed up, but the Customer Service person had announced "Will the owner of the pick-up truck with the Basset Hound please report to...." Lowes has the best employees! I gave it a few minutes and went back outside - the pickup was gone. However, I had placed a small flyer under the windshield of the truck letting them know that it was too hot to leave their dog that way. Not everyone knows how hot it gets inside a car on a hot Summer day -- even with the windows cracked temperatures can rise 40 degrees in the first 15-30 minutes. That can be fatal for a dog.
Folks, please pass along this information. Our pets are just like members of our families. Let's do what we can to educate others about the dangers of hot cars. You may even save a life!
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