Lately, I have been observing unattended vehicles with dogs in them. During the last heat wave I observed a car with the motor running at Shop Rite with a Chihuahua inside. When I returned 20 minutes later the dog was still there. It bothered me but I assumed the a/c was on, and the dog should be fine.
When I got home I did some researching and here's what I found:
* It is illegal in New Jersey to idle your vehicle over 3 minutes.
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* It is illegal in New Jersey to idle a car unattended.
* It is illegal to leave a pet unattended if..."unattended in a vehicle, under inhumane conditions adverse to the health or welfare of the living animal or creature--"
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If the above is not enough you must remember there are :
* Mechanical Failures for vehicles:
* 2013 Mercedes SL class recall.....air conditioning
* In May 2012, a judge ruled against Honda in a class action suit involving over 1 million Honda cars including CRV, Odyssey and Acura ......faulty air conditioning
* Long idle times can lead to the vehicle overheating due to fan motor, fan clutch, sensor or relay failure as well as bug/dirt obstruction in the radiator or low coolant.
If an a/c unit should fail:
* 70 degrees would be 99 degrees in a half hour and 117 in an hour.
* 95 degrees would be 107 in 5 minutes and 149 in an hour.
I recently spoke to a Canine Officer who told me that last year in Camden a police dog died due to A/C mechanical failure in a vehicle that was equiped with a backup system that also failed.
So is it considered "inhumane" to leave a pet in a vehicle with the "hope" that everything will be fine when you get back? Should I call the police everytime I see a dog or pet in an unattended car? Do the police feel it is an annoyance when you call about such matters? Is it okay to turn my head when a dog is in a car outside of a Dunkin Donuts but what about a shopping mall or a parking lot?
What would YOU do if you saw a dog in a running car with the a/c on in a heat wave?
--
Thefurrygodmother.com
Mahwah and Ramsey's professional pet sitter (and surrounding areas too!)
