Don’t Break My Car Window – Dogs In Cars

Don’t Break My Car Window – Dogs In Cars

Don't Break My Car Window - Dogs In Cars

I probably should not share this so publicly in a post like but I feel that this topic needs to be discussed. I am a single person with two dogs that I take places with me. No, they don’t come when I am going to the food store but they do come with me on trips and visits to friends and family. That means due to the distance we are traveling they might have to stay in the car while I run to the restroom or on really long trips place an order for food come out and walk or give them water or hang out with them while I wait for the food to cook. I will then go back in and pick up the food to not only eat in the car but share with them.

No they don’t go for walks at every stop they stick to the same schedule we have at home. Going for walks in new places is exciting to them. They want to explore everything, smell everything, and see everything – depending on where we are that could be dangerous. I don’t only mean roadside dangers I mean dangers from other dogs that were there before that might be sick. We do not stop at regular rest stops with dog walk areas. What you don’t know is that we probably already stopped at a Motel and used their parking lot and grass area for a potty break. You also don’t know that I either have cold water for them waiting in the car or I am bringing some out for them to drink. You also don’t know that if we are traveling in the summer that underneath the blankets in their crate is a cooling mat.

Dogs in Cars

It is worrisome enough to leave them in the car for 2 minutes thinking someone might try to steal them because the windows are open with them in their crate. It is not ok for crazy people to break into my car and steal my dogs because they feel that my dogs are somehow being abuse. The only summers my dog have ever known have been extremely hot and humid – NYC, Hong Kong, Miami, and Georgia.

If the dogs are in the car alone I had no choice but to leave them in there for a few minutes or literally leave them at home at the kennel while I travel. Feel free to stand there and stare at my dogs so that they bark and get all excited and start panting while I run to the restroom. It is hotter in the summer and colder in the winter where you are standing then it is in the car.

I try not to travel long distances with them in the middle of the summer because it is the middle of the summer and too hot. I would say the same for the middle of the winter but the truth is I live in the South and it does not get that cold here and if it is that cold no one is going in the car anyway because it is too cold to go anywhere. If there is snow on the ground around here we might try to get over to the dog park before it thaws but truth is we likely will not even leave the driveway. My dogs are not suffering but they will bark and get upset if you sit there and stare at them or cause a commotion. I don’t like leaving them in the car for any reason for any amount of time. You do not know the circumstances or how long they have been in the car without me.

If you make Davinia stand in one place for too long her leg will start to shake and she quite probably will fall flat on her face. She isn’t in distress, sick, or dehydrated she is missing muscle and has nerve damage after being attacked by dogs. But other people don’t know that. And don’t know that by standing there staring at her she will not sit down so that the shaking stops.

What you can do if you see dogs in cars

  • If you would like to make sure that my dogs are ok by all means feel free to do so.
  • Wait in a location that you can see them but they cannot see you so that they can go about their business.
  • Time how long I have been away from the car. I promise you it feels longer to me then they have actually been left alone.
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    Comments

    1. Thank you!!! I, too, am a single woman who travels with my dogs frequently. You have to stop to go to the bathroom!! Thankfully, I live (and travel to a vacation home) in an area where there is very low crime. Meaning: I can leave my sunroof WIDE open, and my windows about 6 inches open (all of them), and park in the shade and run to the bathroom. Another thing I do is travel in the very early morning or early evening when it is cooler. I had quite the challenge this year, traveling with my senior dog back and forth all summer, with all the press lately about dogs in cars (which is a GOOD thing, don’t get me wrong) I was always mindful about even the very shortest bathroom break. Bathroom is the only reason I stop, otherwise, I use drive-thru or stock up on food and beverage before the journey so that I don’t need to stop. I am happy the cooler weather is here.
      Kathy recently posted..Vacationing with a senior dogMy Profile

    2. A great post brilliantly written. It’s a tricky subject and I can see both sides. I put a post on my blog about leaving BD in the car and got some negative responses, however the evening has cooled and he was in complete shade with a bowl full of water and only left for 5 minutes so in the end it was fine. However, there was another incident when on holiday camping in France, I had no option but to leave him to stock up on food and the shopping trip turned into a nightmare and when we came back he was clearly very hot. In that moment I kicked myself a million times and continue too. In that instance would I have had someone break a window to get him out, of course. But he has fear aggression so the idea of someone reaching into his car without me there I don’t know what he would do!!
      Lauranne recently posted..I miss you.My Profile

    3. Another solo traveler with dogs here to applaud your post Felissa! I actually do time how long I am gone when I must leave the dogs in the car on a road trip- I use the stopwatch AND the timer on my iPhone- when the timer goes off, if I am still away from the car, I stop what I am doing and race back to the car. Then, I will try again after we have all had a breather (though the car is rarely hot yet at all!) Honestly, this method also ensures that thieves would likely not have time to have stolen my beloved pups. I do think it is wonderful that so many people out there care for the welfare of pets and especially that the word has spread about the dangers of leaving dogs in hot cars. However, you’re correct in that there are proper ways to show that animal compassion without making the situation worse!
      Bethany recently posted..Wondering Where We’ve Been Wordless WednesdayMy Profile

    4. I am glad someone is tackling this issue. It is a difficultly thin line for people who aren’t the owners of a dog or dogs in cars, as they care, but they do not know. And sadly there are too many people who don’t care..

      I had a cat Ollie who LOVED to sit in the sauna with me. it was 140 degrees in there, and he would bang at the door to be let in, would sit next to me for ten minutes or more, and decide he was warm enough and left. Now in this instance he had the choice, and I was sitting there to let him out when he had had enough, but still..
      Connie recently posted..A Huge Disappointment for the Coastal Humane SocietyMy Profile

    5. I often take Parker Prettycat with me to the farm where she was born and my parents still live, about 5 hours away from here. About halfway, there is a strip mall with drive-thru fast food restaurants and a Petsmart, where I can get out and use the (human) restroom, taking the cat in with me. Typically, it’s the drive-thru window, park by the PetSmart, and then the restroom. Then sometimes we’ll look to see if I forgot to get anything for her for the trip.

      Geoffrey Hooker
      Aimable Cats recently posted..latest typingMy Profile

    6. Hilary Russell says

      I am blown away by the naïveté and lack of common sense written, not only by the author, but in the replies. First and foremost a car heats up from say 75 degrees or 80 if the AC WAS ON FOR A SIGNIFICANT PERIOD OF TIME, to 120 in two to three minutes. Do you really think that bowl of water stays cool in that heat? Or that a few minutes doesn’t make THAT much of a difference. If you want to eat, you DRIVE THRU. If you need to use the Loo, you leave the car running with the AC on, after all it’s just a few minutes right? You don’t get the luxury of bring FeeFee on a trip if you’re so worried she’ll be stolen. You leave her in the security of a pet motel. You assumed responsibility for this life and the measures taken described here are half-assed. You can bring your pet with you, but then pony up what that responsibility really means. Shame on you. I can only guess it’s ignorance and money sacrifice tactics that drove the author and responders.

      • So because someone has to run to the bathroom they should leave their pet behind instead of bringing them with them. I guess I should just bring my dogs to the local shelter the next time I move because I can’t take them with me with your thinking. Please go crawl back under your rock.

      • Hilary. Shame on you judging people like you know all. I believe the author by all means love her dogs way more than you know it.

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