Dog rescued from hot car: Group says it receives 40 calls a week

Rose Owens drives around parking lots looking for dogs left in cars and takes calls from concerned residents who see animals in distress.

On Thursday, Owens said she found a dog who'd been left in a vehicle for about 40 minutes.

Owens "took action" to get the dog to safety as the alleged owner came running out from Tecumseh Mall. 

"'I was only in there for five minutes.' That's the first thing they always say," said Owens. She's been on a mission to keep dogs from being left in hot cars for the last three years, as part of her non-profit organization 'Pet Patrol'.

In Thursday's instance, Owens said it was no different — but by her math it was around 40 minutes. Another shopper called Pet Patrol to report the dog. According to Owens, it took her six minutes to arrive and then she was there for another five minutes before the owner appeared. The shopper who called said it had been 30 minutes before she picked up the phone. 

"If you're going to park your car and leave your dog in the car ... that's totally wrong," said Owens. She thinks it's a lack of education of the danger a hot car can present to a dog.

"I give them pamphlets on why it's not good ... but there's enough. It's in the news, it's in heat warnings," said Owens. "People are still doing it."

Owens said she gets about 40 calls a week about dogs left in cars when it's hot outside.

Tempting — but don't do it, says humane society

Windsor/Essex County Humane Society executive director Melanie Coulter said while it can be tempting to come to a dog's rescue, residents should call police and the humane society to report the instance.

"I know there's a temptation to take action yourself, but the reality is that law enforcement officers have the legal right to get into a vehicle and rescue an animal, whereas a private citizen doesn't have that authority," said Coulter. 

"You can open yourself up to potential charges of trespass or damage to property for doing that, even if you're doing it for a great purpose."

Coulter also said there's no specific timeline for how long is too long to leave a dog or other pet in a hot vehicle. 

"It depends on a variety of factors," said Coulter. "The temperature outside, the type of vehicle, the type of dog. How sunny it is."

Police officers and the humane society's enforcement officers have access to temperature thermometers to get reads of how hot it might be inside a vehicle. Owens uses one too and provides those readings to police, along with the license plate number of the vehicle.

"Last week we arrived at a scene and found the temperature inside the vehicle was 110 [Fahrenheit]," said Coulter. "We knew then that there was a very short period of time before the dog would [start to show signs of heat stroke] and so the dog was removed from the vehicle."