Dogs die in hot cars

I have never seen so many kind and thoughtful people sharing messages about keeping dogs safe during hot weather. I’m not really a dog person, although on our side of the road we are one of only two families who don’t keep dogs, preferring instead cats. The advice, you would think, is blindingly obvious, as explained here by the RSPCA. But I am guessing that there are people out there whose ignorance in keeping dogs safe is on an industrial scale.

My Facebook page is not set to ‘public’ so only people I actually know see what I can post. So, I like to think that of my Facebook friends none are so stupid as, for example, to leave their dogs in hot cars or to walk them on boiling hot pavements. If I do, and it is you, I’ll tell you what: go away and find some new friends. Dogs are lovely, loyal and friendly animals. I would feel very bad if any of my friends were that dim. I’d no sooner leave my family in a hot car, never mind a domestic pet.

Surely, it can’t be that hard to walk dogs early in the morning or in the evening when the sun has gone down? As a mere human being, I’m not a great fan of walking in blistering heat at the best of times, with or without a dog.

These messages occasionally make me think about dog safety. I can’t remember the last time I saw a dog having been left in a car, hot or otherwise, but I reckon my radar would pick it up if I did. The same if I saw someone walking a dog on hot pavements. Maybe I’ve just been fortunate, or I live in an area where people actually treat their dogs well, but in my sheltered little life I see only kindness to our four-legged friends. And I’m not sure if I’d really want to be friends, real or Facebook friends, with anyone who treated animals badly.