Yesterday we dialed 911 in a parking lot

[Omaha Steve]

We were coming out of the store about 1 P.M. yesterday. As Marta was getting into the car, the car on her side was getting out of theirs. Marta noticed there was a sheltie in the back seat. The two young ladies closed the doors, windows up. The temp was in the 90's. There were no clouds in the sky for any shade at that time. The heat index was around 110.

Marta asked the driver to please roll down the windows a little to vent the car and allow heat to leave the vehicle. The passenger said "we probably should".

The driver said "we will only be in there a couple of minutes". Marta again asked the driver to please consider the dog, and roll down the window just a little. The driver then said to her " please don't put your judgement on me mam".

I then said I had read this week that a dog left in the car in this kind of heat can die in 15 minutes time. The two headed into the store.

I called 911 and told them about the situation. It is a felony. A car arrived in 3 minutes time. I told the officer what happened. He said that the Nebraska Humane Society has to observe the act unless the dog is visibly distressed. They were on the way.

After 15 minutes the two young ladies came out of the store with only a 24 pack of beer. The officer approached them as they walked toward the car. He asked for their IDs. The cop let them off with a verbal warning and putting their info in a report for future reference.

We hope they did in fact learn from the experience.

We would do it again without a second thought.

Steve & Marta

[lonestarnot]

1. How quickly did police respond?

[Brickbat]

4. Read it again.

[Omaha Steve]

5. Three minutes

I pointed the car out to him. He was happy to take the call.

[lonestarnot]

17. Sorry, I apparently overlooked that in your OP. Glad he was happy. Thank you and the doggie thanks

you both.

[mnhtnbb]

6. 3 minutes he says in OP. GREAT response time.

[snappyturtle]

2. Good for you! nt

[GCP]

49. Seconded

You did a good thing, thank you on behalf of the dog.

[mnhtnbb]

3. Good for you.

[Siwsan]

7. Too many people don't want to interfere - you did the right thing, that's for sure.

There have been far too many news stories about children and pets suffering because their care takers can't be bothered to roll down the window, for the pet, or take the child OUT of the car.

[nolabear]

8. Good job. I hope they learn too.

And how the hell is the NHS supposed to observe every act?

[Chan790]

20. In states with laws like this...

the HS maintains schedule lists of on-call off-duty staff and volunteers as rapid-responders for observation and intercession. You call the police, they call the HS number who calls the on-call observer for the area. (Often the number the police have for requesting observation is a cell phone so that the call goes directly to the on-duty person.) That seems like an inefficient chain but because they do it so often, the execution is very streamlined. It's part of why so many Humane Society offices require all non-kennel staffers to have a driver's license and own their own car capable of transporting an animal; so there is always someone available to take such calls as well as those of reported abuse immediately.

[nolabear]

31. Thanks for the explanation. Makes sense.

[Mutt22]

9. My beliefs on leaving children or animals in cars.....

[GCP]

50. I love it!

Great stuff.

[orpupilofnature57]

10. Nice work !!!!

People like you kid's might just save us from ourselves ,Thank you for giving a shit .

[Inkfreak]

11. Thank you for doing that!!

I would too!

[TBF]

12. I would do the same thing -

you and Marta did good.

[leveymg]

13. How was the dog after 15 minutes?

Bet he sure could've used a cold one.

[TahitiNut]

32. Poor baby!

He'd rather have a Guinness ... and has to make do with a Coors (yechhh!) Light (blechhh). Why don't people know the refined tastes of Labradors???

[leveymg]

47. Guinness dog coming up!

Lab-Setter Mix? Good dog.

Guiness is Good - but, I prefer it in on tap.

[TahitiNut]

51. See? See how much happier he is?

He'd PREFER an owner with a bar and Guinness on tap, but he's such a generous soul that he accepts it in a can. (He also likes his paw print displayed in the foam head.)

[harmonicon]

71. Naw, labs don't give a shit.

They'll just have "whatever, brah."

[Scootaloo]

76. Now that's clear animal abuse

Coor's... not just Coor's but Coor's lite?

There's a very special place in hell for you, one that involves pineapples and no decent lubricants.

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. Thankfully you live in a city

That has the officers.

[brewens]

15. Good going! I once was driving by and saw an officer slim jim an SUV and pull a baby out.

For a second I thought, oh my god, what did I just see? I was thinking I just saw a dead baby. Then I saw a young guy running up the street and right behind him my locksmith buddy screeching around the corner headed that way.

I called my locksmith buddy later. It turned out the kid left the baby in the SUV with it running and the A/C on. He was in one of the businesses for just a few minutes but locked himself out of the SUV. The baby wasn't in there long.

The kid immediately ran back inside and called the cops himself and the cops called the locksmith. No harm done but the kid got a warning. You never know. Something freaky could happen. You could have an accident or seizure or something in a situation like that. Then you have a kid in a car and no one knows it.

I felt really bad hearing the story about the woman who forgot she had her kid with her. I think her husband always dropped the baby off at daycare but one morning she had to. She goes a little ways and forgets and thinks she's just driving to work as usual. I've done exactly the same thing when I started out intending to mail something at the post office. The next thing I know I'm pulling into work and see I still have my package.

Unfortunately the baby was asleep and she just went into work as usual. She realized what she had done too late and the baby died. That's one that could have happened to a lot of people.

[Politicalboi]

33. Something like that happened to me

Hot June day in Pa with 2 little Rottie puppies about 12 weeks old. I had forgot something in the house, and left the truck running with the air on for the little guys. I come back, and the dogs are happy to see me, and the next sound I hear is the drivers door lock from one of the puppies paws. I called AAA and they came about 20 minutes later. Had the air been off, I would have had to break the window. But they were just fine, a lot cooler than I was. LOL!

[DrewFlorida]

16. Good Job!

Steve and Marta,
Way to go, I give you a pat on the back for doing the right thing!

[southernyankeebelle]

18. Well you did the right thing. I would do it. OMG today here where I live in Tn it is soooooooooooo

hot you don't want to go out in this heat. It is soooooooooo humid.

[undeterred]

19. I knew someone whose sheltie was stolen from their car when they left it inside.

It was hot and they were only going to be in the store for a few minutes. They left the window cracked. When they came back the dog was gone, and it was not the type of dog who would jump out the car window.

Someone probably came along and took the dog because they thought it was being maltreated.

[murielm99]

21. I did that last summer.

It was in a grocery store parking lot. Another lady was with me. We used her cell, but I stayed to talk to the cop. The women were dumbfounded when they came outside. They did not see the problem. I told them that if they did not know how to care for a dog, they should not own one.

[panader0]

22. A cop in Tucson left his drug sniffing shepard in his car too long last week.

The dog was euthanized the next day. Very sad. You did the right thing.

[patrice]

23. Thank you, Steve and Marta! I wish there were some way for those young ladies to just get

the intrinsic worth of their furry friend, or to at least understand that their ir-responsible treatment of their dog becomes magnified in our social construct and will come back to them as disregard for their own rights as humans.

[Marcia Brady]

24. More people should do this. n/t

[RebelOne]

25. I would never, never leave my dog in the car in the summer even with the windows rolled down.

My Rottweiler (who has since gone to doggie heaven) loved to ride in the car. I always took her with me when I went shopping. She could not understand why she couldn't go with me in the summer. I always felt so bad that she was so sad when I left without her.

[cindyperry2010]

26. thank you

[MNBrewer]

27. 2 comments

1. Leave the dog @ home.
2. Stores should allow (or be allowed to have) patrons bring their dogs in, providing they're well behaved. Otherwise, see #1.

[freshwest]

29. +1

[lunatica]

28. Thank you both!

I hope they won't do that ever again!

[pinto]

30. Good call and, agree, hope they will think twice in a similar situation.

(aside) One of the women could have walked the dog outside while her friend shopped...

[progressivebydesign]

34. good for you!

If anything, maybe it will make those dumb girls rethink doing that if only because they don't want to be hassled when buying their beer.

And I WISH the enforcement agencies would STOP saying that the dog has to be 'clearly in distress' Sometimes the dogs have gotten past the point of barking, and are lethargic and near death in the car, and it would look calm.

There was a dog that died in Washington State last month, and the police were called, left a note.. but nothing was done, then the guy came back and the dog was dead.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

35. "please don't put your judgement on me mam"

What kind of reply is that??? Roll down the window an inch, you idiot!

And three minutes of course turned into 15. Morons.

[MineralMan]

36. Actually, that's not enough. An inch down won't really

do anything to lower the temperature in the car. The simple answer is that the dog should not be left in that car at all, in 90 degree weather. Not for any length of time at all. Leave the dog at home or take it with you when you get out of the car. It is that simple.

[livvy]

65. Agree! Since there were two of them...

why didn't one of the blockheads stay in the car with the dog with the air on. Does it really take two people to buy beer?

[Liberal_in_LA]

37. I'd love to have seen their faces when the cop approached.

[sorefeet]

38. I have called the authorities once this year

and confronted people on two different occasions for leaving their dogs in cars. I refuse to walk away without helping the animal.

[a la izquierda]

39. Good on you!

I've done the same thing, though one time I came pretty close to a physical altercation with a woman who threatened me when I told her I was calling the cops. Stupidly for her, I did call the police and reported that she threatened me, too. And she had warrants.

My dogs don't get left in the car, even with the A/C on (unless I'm in my driveway). One of my dogs is a Chihuahua, and I'm sure someone would steal him.

[riverbendviewgal]

40. You did the right thing

all of the things..
I do hope the young ladies did learn something.

[Dystopian]

41. KandR

Steve and Marta ~
Thank you

peace~

[tularetom]

42. I did that once outside a Trader Joe's - saw a car with a beagle inside

Except the car was locked when we got there. I was about to force a window open when a young woman came out of the store and confronted us. I asked her if she was aware of the danger she was putting her dog in and she replied "I'm a veterinarian, I don't need your advice".

By then a crowd had gathered and her remark was met with a lot of hostility. She got in the car and got the hell out of there quick.

[barbtries]

44. i bet she was lying too.

i went and visited my brother on the central coast in CA. he takes his dog everywhere and leaves him in the car with the windows down.
it stays in the 70s out there and is usually overcast, but it was still kind of hard for me to get used to it. here in NC i just leave my little dog at home - it must get to 120 or worse in the car.

[tularetom]

46. Actually I think she may have been a vet but that makes it even worse

At least she had a vet license plate frame on her car.

[barbtries]

62. wow then i guess she was.

it does make it even harder to understand.

[horseshoecrab]

43. Thank you Steve and Marta!

Animals need people to speak for them and you two stepped up and did the right thing!

[Kalidurga]

45. I hate reporting stuff like this...

But, I do it because I know how dangerous this is. It only has to be 70 some degrees in the sun for a car to heat up rather quickly. 90 degrees is dangerous within minutes. Poor dogs they don't sweat, but at 90 degrees in the sun that wouldn't even help much as humans die under those conditions. This is beyond cruel it is reckless endangerment and those girls should have gotten a court date not just a warning.

The reason I hate reporting it, is because it is one of those duh things like don't freaking take your dog with you when it's that hot outside.

[Omaha Steve]

48. I just checked the call log in the phone it was 12:39 when I called

I'm wondering how soon the girls gave the dog some water.

Two hours later we had a little rain. The first rain in 28 days.

It is supposed to reach 100 today and Tuesday.

[magical thyme]

52. thank you for caring, calling and staying to make sure

the doggy was ok!

For future reference, in that heat and full sun, even cracking the windows would not have been enough.

In shade with windows well rolled down and a breeze blowing through, they would possibly have been ok. But full sun? That car, even with windows cracked, would have heated to deadly in no time.

[greytdemocrat]

53. Nice job Steve & Marta.

It's a shame people are so braindead.

[Rhiannon12866]

54. K&R! Kudos to you and Marta!!!

I've been in that situation (once while I was in the USSR!) and totally panicked. Thank heavens for cell phones and what a great thing you did! Thanks for letting us know!

[Iggo]

55. Whoa!

I had a similar experience yesterday.

Riding my bike up Whittier Blvd toward Beach Blvd. It was hot hot hot outside, and I was regretting not wearing a large brimmed hat. Anyway, as I'm approching the FedEx store, a car pulls up and this stunningly beautiful woman gets out of the car and walks into the FedEx store. I confess. That's why I looked in the first place. But anyway, as I'm passing her car, I see a medium sized white curly-haired dog jumping from the front seat to the back seat and back to the front again. Now, I'm dying from the heat just riding my bike, and I'm outside. So I pass her car and stop. Her engine is off and the windows are up. I wait there for three minutes, she comes out and asks me what I'm up to. I tell her, "Two more minutes and I was gonna call the cops. Please don't leave your dog in the car like that anymore." Didn't wait for a response.

[Beringia]

56. Good job

[wakemewhenitsover]

57. But still, you shouldn't have put your judgment on them...

...even if they are inhumane criminals.



Well done, Steve & Marta!

[JDPriestly]

58. And if you live in a dry climate and leave your dog at home alone,

don't forget the water.

Every once in a while I see a dog with a collar, a well-cared-for, groomed don that has escaped from a yard or a house and I sometimes wonder if it is looking for water, maybe also food. Of course, dogs like to explore, but leaving water is important.

[LeftofObama]

59. Great job!

Exactly what I would have done!

[hedgehog]

60. So - one person couldn't have walked the dog on a leash while the other ran into the store?

People are so thoughtless!


Good for you, Steve! That's real solidarity with the underdog!

[Seedersandleechers]

61. I saw a dog in the heat of the summer locked

in a black car in the parking lot at Arthur Bryant's BBQ in Kansas City. Inside I yelled, "whoever locked their dog in the car with the windows up better do something because I'm calling 911." A couple at the end in a very long line quickly left and didn't come back. My partner was embarrassed but fuck that shit.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

72. I had the same experience -- the police arrived just before the owner did

and as I was digging out my tire iron to break the side window. (As Kathy Bates said in Fried Green Tomatoes, "I'm older and better insured.&quot The owner got a stern lecture but no ticket. It felt good to have taken action, however.

Hell, who is stupid enough to leave a dog in a closed up car in Palm Springs in the middle of the summer?

This owner was.

[Smilo]

63. Wooferly comments here

Four paws up to Marta and Steve and all the other caring people on DU.

I, thankfully, have never seen animal in this situation, but if I ever do and there is a brick handy.......

Stay cool y'all.

[Curmudgeoness]

64. One thing really bothers me about this....

the cop could do nothing unless the dog was in distress and they had to wait for the humane society. Would this be the same case if it had been a child? Wait for the child to be in distress or for child protective services to arrive? Both pets and children are at our mercy and I don't like this double standard.

[roguevalley]

66. you are now and I feel always will be good people, my friend. I feel the pleasure of God

in what you did. Thank you from this dog lover.

[ailsagirl]

67. ANYONE who would be so caring as to do what you did

is fabulous, in my book. That once happened to me-- a friend and I were walking down a rural road and noticed there was a dog in the back of a station wagon. The windows were cracked and the day was not hot but my friend noticed that the dog's water bowl was empty. So he took the liberty of opening up the back (which wasn't locked, thankfully) and replaced what tiny amount of water was left with water from a bottle he was carrying. No one noticed us (hell, we could have been breaking in to the car) and we went away feeling good that the dog now had plenty of water. And he was thirsty, let me tell you.

[chknltl]

68. Thank you Steve and Marta

Thank you very much. I think that I will give my dog a big hug right now.

[Kennah]

69. Major Kudos! Y'all went above and beyond.

[midnight]

70. Thank you for looking out for these little ones....

[ejpoeta]

73. I have noticed on the local posts a number of dogs in the cars

reported at walmart parking lot. I am glad people are saying something. I do not bring my dog with us to the store because I don't want her sitting in the car. Even if we open the windows. When we get in the car it is SO hot! I wouldn't do that to our pet. She is safe at home in the air conditioning. We take her with us when we go camping of course, but otherwise she stays here. It saddens me that people don't consider their pets. If you MUST bring them, then park in the shade and open windows. There were two of them, one could have stayed in the car. If we have the dog with us one of us will sit in the car with her. That way we can make sure she is ok.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

74. goddammed self-absorbed little ****s

oh put in any 4 letter word you want there, I don't care. They all fit, every single one of them.

I'm so sick of people like this.

And the stores that won't let you bring your well-behaved pet in--too bad, pal, dog has to stay in the car. What are they protecting us from? Nobody says a word about shit-stinking crying brats taking over a business establishment.

[SammyWinstonJack]

75. Real important purchase there. Life threatening purchase, in fact. Thank you!

[sulphurdunn]

77. I left my dog

in the car a week or so ago while I was in Lowe's. It was hot out, but the windows were cracked open. I intended to be in and out. I wasn't out for nearly and hour, and only then did I remember I'd brought the dog. She was fine, but I don't think I'll take her shopping with me anymore in the summer.

[cate94]

78. Thanks for calling.

Thanks for staying. Hopefully they learned something.

[catbyte]

79. Bravo!

Animals can overheat even with the window down. I have nothing but contempt for idiot pet owners/guardians. They don't deserve the privilege of sharing their lives with a pet.

Diane
Anishinaabe in MI & mom to Taz, Nigel, and new baby brother Sammy, members of Dogs Against Romney, Cat Division
"Dogs Aren’t Luggage--HISS!”

[Stargazer09]

80. It's been very hot here in Omaha

If I had a dog, it would be spending most of its time in the air conditioned house.

Barring that, it only takes one person to buy beer. Why couldn't they leave one person with the car, so the air conditioning could stay on and keep the pooch from baking?