I can't wait for the hot summer season to be over in Sacramento, not just for myself but for the dogs that are amazingly still being left to cook in cars despite all the media coverage of such things during the dog days of summer.  As I pulled up to the post office, there inside the cream-colored late model Cadillac next to my car was a poor little Lhasa Apso perched on the tip-top of the front seat trying to get to the only ventilation his owner had provided, the partially open sunroof.  The car was in direct sun, and the dog was in obvious distress.  A bagger I recognized from the Save Mart was clearly bothered about it, but he hadn't notified the security guard for the shopping center, even though he told me that a dog had died in a hot car in the parking lot only days before.  I began my search for the owner, which didn't take me very long.  A group of young people were seated at a table just a few yards from the car blithely chatting away at each other or on their cell phones.  When I asked if anyone there had left a dog in the car, the response was, "Oh, he's fine."  Spoken like someone who sees a dog as a mere commodity or fashion statement, much like Daddy's new Cadillac.  I informed them the dog was not fine and that I was going to call the authorities if they didn't remove the dog from the car immediately.  When they didn't make any motions to comply, I told them they were not only risking their dog's life but a fine and jail time for cruelty to animals, and I would get a $500 reward for reporting it.  Then I went into the post office and asked to use their phone (didn't have my cell with me, as I usually do).  When I came out to get the license number, the car was gone.  Apparently, I had struck the nerve connected to someone's wallet (Daddy's, no doubt).  I saw the Caddy with the nearly cooked canine making a hasty departure from the lot.  I can only hope the next stop was home, and I hope the Lhasa's ignorant owner took emergency measures to cool the dog down, but somehow I doubt it.

If only store owners would post a sign at their entrance reminding patrons not to leave dogs (or children or seniors) in the car while they shop, so many lives would be saved.  I think this is an important goal for all humane organizations in every city to undertake. Print up some signs and distribute them around town.  I would like to see our own SPCA encourage Sacramento businesses to take an active part in helping to prevent needless deaths from heat stroke.   REMINDER FROM THE HOT DOG PATROL: Don't park the dog when you park the car!