No, No You Can’t Leave Your Dog in the Car Even If You Crack The Window

Good grief. A reader writes:

“Corner of Biltmore and Cliffbourne.

Cracking the windows is not enough on sunny days! The dog was in there for at least an hour and a half. Thanks to MPD Officer Dunn and the Humane Rescue Alliance.

Maryland plates, to the surprise of no one…”

And passes on the original report from the Adams Morgan listserv this morning:

“There’s a (very cute!) big dog inside a silver car on the corner of Biltmore and Cliffbourne with the windows cracked open an inch that’s been there for about 30 minutes (he howls once in a while). Today is very very hot and it’s not safe for the dog to be there – the heat can kill a dog quickly because they can’t regulate their temperature the way humans can. Please, if this is your dog, come get him or her out ASAP! He’s panting pretty hard right now.”

Fortunate update:

“The dog is out, the Humane Society documented the conditions so the owner can be cited, and the car is being towed.

Thanks very much to Officer Dunn of MPD for caring enough to call the right people and see this through.

Shame on the first officers on scene who said it would be okay to leave the dog in the car in the sun because the windows were cracked, and who then left. That is not the appropriate response. Cracking the windows does not do enough on any sunny day, much less a scorcher like this one. The interior temp was over 100 degrees, and that is despite our neighbors putting a blanket over the windows to block the sun.

But thanks most of all to our neighbors who noticed the dog was in distress and persisted until it got the help it needed.”

and

“The dog is out of the car and he is ok! Animal control explained they will do a cruelty evaluation for 20 days; if no evidence of cruelty, the owner has 20 days to claim; if not claimed, this gorgeous big dog will be up for adoption (I think at the Humane Rescue Alliance).

Thank you to all the neighbors who helped! We have a great neighborhood here.”