Dogs left in hot cars

[HappyJayUK]

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Since reading and sharing all the recent articles about dogs being left in hot stuffy cars I have started a petition to make it a criminal offence.
The petition is calling for it to become a independent criminal offence and for it to be clear that the public knows that it's a criminal offence, just like driving while using a mobile phone and driving without care or attention.
Please sign and share....
Petition: Make it a criminal offence to leave animals especially dogs or cats in a hot car

 

[Whippylove]

Signed

 

[Mad Murphy]

I cant sign as Im not a UK resident but I hope you meet your target.
I would want to see a ban on keeping animals for anyone convicted of this.

 

[JudyN]

The sentiment is great, but the petition says 'Make it a specific criminal offence to leave a dog, cat or any other living animal in a car especially during hot weather or heatwaves' - either it is a criminal offence or it isn't, it can't be more of a criminal offence during hot weather - though the punishment could be greater.

Are you saying it should be illegal to leave pets in cars regardless of the weather conditions, even when it's 100% safe? I don't think that would get through. But if you're saying it should be illegal, how do you define 'too hot'? What if it would be too hot in the sun but fine in the shade, or OK for 2 minutes but not for 20? How could this be policed?

It is already a criminal offence if the dog becomes ill or dies as a result - and so it should be, of course. The difficulty is in making it an offence to leave an animal in the car when it is likely to suffer. Who decides?

Mind you, if behaving in a way 'likely to cause a breach of the peace' is a crime, then it ought to be possible to make behaving in a way 'likely to cause suffering to an animal' a crime. It must be doable - I just think you might want to consider tightening up the wording of your petition a bit.

 

[Nanny71]

Since reading and sharing all the recent articles about dogs being left in hot stuffy cars I have started a petition to make it a criminal offence.
The petition is calling for it to become a independent criminal offence and for it to be clear that the public knows that it's a criminal offence, just like driving while using a mobile phone and driving without care or attention.
Please sign and share....
Petition: Make it a criminal offence to leave animals especially dogs or cats in a hot car

Not only dogs, but small children. Read frequently about babies being left in cars and actually dying. One today because her grandfather 'forgot her'

 

[Violet Turner]

The other day we went to our local supermarket we walked past a car with the windows down, me being nosey i looked in and I saw a small dog similar to a yorkie. The dog had no water! it had a dry nose and was being very lethargic. So i went in the store and spoke to one of the cashiers and they said they would sort it... They went out and checked the dog out, the dog was that lethargic they had to ring the police. Goodness knows where the owner was!

 

[Kara 1]

In Chichester some car parks have signs stating dogs are not allowed to be left in cars using these car parks anytime ....they have a car park attendant checking every 30 mins ...

 

[Mad Murphy]

I got yelled at on FB last week because I spoke about people at a dog show here leaving their dogs in cars and trailers .. several dogs died and we have never had a show in town since. The lady said that it never happened (?) And would never happen at a reputable show such as she was involved in and she mentioned the show at Amsterdam. I hope she's choaking on her words as police had to break open six cars where dogs had been left in temperatures reaching 40+ celcius .. All the dogs were owned by competitors who received fines and all dogs they owned were disqualified from the show.

If these people who live and breathe dogs get it so wrong what hope is there for Joe Soap public who has no clue about dog care?

 

[JudyN]

One rescue I know included in its rehoming contract that the new owner could never leave their dog shut in a car. This ruffled quite a few feathers. There were regular large group walks arranged through the rescue which ended at a pub, and if it was too cold to sit outside, the floor of the pub would be wall-to-wall lurchers. Understandably, this isn't a great environment for many dogs and some people would leave their dogs in the car, often in view from the pub.

I've mixed feelings about this. On these days the dogs weren't going to overheat, and the dogs were as safe from theft as they'd be if left in a house. How far do you legislate to make the rules idiot proof if they impact negatively on those who aren't idiots and don't take risks?

I wouldn't leave J in a car as he'd probably freak out at being left, set the alarm off, and get in even more of a state, so it's not a decision I'd have to make myself.

 

[Kara 1]

I know the rescue you are talking about ....

 

[Nanny71]

He has never been left in the car. In Homebase last week one of the cashiers saw me struggling with an outdoor table I had bought and Dudley on his lead.
She suggested I leave the table with her, put him in the car and then come back for the table.
I told her this was unacceptable and she found someone to bring the table out.
It wasn't particularly hot but this Homebase is next to Pets at Home where we had just been. Random visit because they had a sign for a sale of outdoor furniture.