HOT DOG! MALL SHOPPER HOUNDED AND SHAMED ON TV

Who would think that yesterday was the first day of summer?  Today it's cool and looks like it might rain.  In another week we could be back into the triple digits.  This unpredictably variable weather gives people a false sense of security about the safety of their pets in hot weather.  I was very glad to see that KXTV Channel 10 was hounding the dirtbag who left his shaggy dog in his car while he shopped at Arden Fair Mall.  The car was parked in the lot for an hour and a half!  What are people thinking when they leave an animal or a child unattended in a hot car for that long?  The trouble is they aren't thinking.  They are distracted most of the time by their iphones or doG knows what, instead of paying attention to what really matters.  No living thing will survive very long if left in a car on a day when the mercury tops 100.  The temperature in the car was much higher.  How could any caring person leave their pet to suffer in that kind of heat?  Pets have no sweat glands like humans, thus no way to cool themselves other than to pant, but that is insufficient in a four-wheeled oven.  At the same time I saw this report on the news, I was reading online about a child that died in a hot car.  These tragedies are all so easily preventable.  Leave no living being unattended in your car.  Period!  


The report didn't mention how long the dog had been left in the car.  The windows were apparently rolled down quite a ways, but that is no guarantee there was no damage done to the dog's internal organs.  Frequently, an overheated dog can seem okay, but then it dies later from the effects.  I noticed this dog seemed to be unsteady on its feet as the owner walked him back to the car, which made me wonder if he was really okay.  The mall cops are frequently just as ignorant about the effects of overheating as the people who leave the dogs in the car.  Hopefully, the owner didn't just go down the road and do the same thing again at another shopping area.  


The report should have warned viewers that the dog should have been taken to a veterinarian immediately to ensure no damage was done to the dog from heat exhaustion.  The results of even a short time left in a car that was so hot can be deadly.  Of course, in my opinion, the dog should not have been returned to his negligent owner but confiscated and re-homed with a responsible pet owner who would care enough about his animal companion not to leave it cooking in a car in the middle of summer.  I also think that stores need to start posting warnings in their storefronts that patrons leaving their dogs or kids in the car while they shop will be prosecuted to the full extent the law allows.  Clearly, people cannot judge temperature as it relates to pet safety.  I hope soon the law allows a lot more punishment than it currently does for these thoughtless offenders.  How many dogs will have to die first?