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AIBU?

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Original poster

Had an incident with a woman this morning who’d left her dog in a hot car.

86 replies

SquashMeDown · 29/06/2025 11:36

Went to town this morning, when I arrived and parked there was a car nearby with a dog barking and sounding upset.

I went to get a parking ticket and saw that a man was already watching the dog.

The windows were open a tiny bit but there were wind deflectors in the windows so only about a mm of ventilation. It’s a sunny day, and the temperature just over 20°.

The man then left but took a photo of the car.

I hung around for a few minutes wondering what to do. I was just going to get a drink, so took a photo of the outside of the car with its number plate, with the intention of coming straight back and deciding what to do. In all this took about 10 minutes.

As I was leaving a woman came up to me and aggressively told me to delete the photo, that she didn’t give me permission to take the photo. I pointed out I was worried about her dog so had hung around and didn’t want it to be hurt or die. She was so rude and aggressive, claimed she’d only been a couple of minutes (she wasn’t, she was at least 10 minutes). I stood my ground and explained I was just looking out for her dog, but she was so awful - she could have been lovely about it and appreciated that someone was looking out for her poor dog, but no, she was defensive and turned it all round on me.

AIBU for thinking that leaving a dog in a hot car for over 10 minutes is fucking cruel, and she did nothing to help herself by being so angry and rude?
Or should I just have minded my own business?

OP posts:
Coconutter24 · 29/06/2025 16:08

hayfeverforever · 29/06/2025 15:45

Because fools on the internet tell people that you can’t leave a dog home for more than 3/4 hrs. Hence why dogs are everywhere now and treated like children carted about all day.

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It won’t be for that reason because people on the internet also let dog owners know about the dangers of leaving a dog in a hot car but they never seem to take notice of that so they definitely won’t take notice about leaving them at home.

hayfeverforever · 29/06/2025 15:45

OonaStubbs · 29/06/2025 15:16

Why do people take their dogs out in the car on a hot day instead of leaving them at home?

Because fools on the internet tell people that you can’t leave a dog home for more than 3/4 hrs. Hence why dogs are everywhere now and treated like children carted about all day.

Glitchymn1 · 29/06/2025 15:38

Nothing she could do about it, she can’t make you delete it.
Wasn’t sure which way to vote but I’d have hung around too. Anything could happen, you may intend to ‘pop’ somewhere but something could happen that holds you up.

Coconutter24 · 29/06/2025 15:35

HeddaGarbled · 29/06/2025 12:01

It’s obligatory to have a dog-in-hot-car or walking-dog-on-hot-day thread at least once a week on all social media platforms because it enables posters to have their essential sainthood validated by the collective rightness of right people.

10 minutes early morning with the windows open was probably fine.

10 minutes at 20 degrees in direct sunlight is still 20 degrees even if it is early morning. The thing is people who find the dogs also don’t know how long the dog has been there. A car heats up very quickly in direct sunlight and doesn’t take long to make a dog unwell or worse

creekyjohn · 29/06/2025 15:35

I mean she came back so there was nothing to report, I would have deleted my photo at that point. There was no need to keep it/

Lorrymum · 29/06/2025 15:35

So many dog owners have no idea how to look after a dog. You were totally in the right.
I am also sick of seeing poor dogs being dragged around in intense heat or sitting on a hot beach. Just touching the pavement should give the owner some idea of how painful it is for paw pads.

godmum56 · 29/06/2025 15:35

advice is always to call the police. https://www.bluecross.org.uk/advice/dog/health-and-injuries/dogs-in-hot-cars

Coconutter24 · 29/06/2025 15:31

WhereIsMyJumper · 29/06/2025 13:14

Thankfully someone said it, 20 degrees is not hot. I thought I was going mad for a minute

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20 degrees is to hot for a dog in a car that is sat in direct sunlight. It might be ok for you but not a dog

tsmainsqueeze · 29/06/2025 15:28

Poor dog and stupid woman.
When will these idiots ever learn ?
You were right and she was totally in the wrong .
I have not long come back from a garden centre which was roasting hot where another idiot had taken 2 dogs one of which was an over weight bulldog ,it was struggling.
Yesterday peak heat of the day on a short car journey i counted 3 dogs out with owners , i think the best you can hope for is that the type of person in your experience thinks about what they did ,realises they are totally at fault and doesn't do it again , won't hold my breath though.

ChaToilLeam · 29/06/2025 15:20

Horrible woman and poor dog, she should be reported.

cestlavielife · 29/06/2025 15:18

Yabu to expect someone who leaves dog in hot car to be smiles with you
say nothing just report

OonaStubbs · 29/06/2025 15:16

Why do people take their dogs out in the car on a hot day instead of leaving them at home?

Iwanttoliveonamountain · 29/06/2025 15:14

20 in the street could be 35/40 in the car. She got angry cos you were right.

tumblingdowntherabbithole · 29/06/2025 14:51

BIossomtoes · 29/06/2025 14:25

What was she supposed to do? Break the windows?

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If you ring the police and explain the situation, they may well tell you to do just that. It happened here not long ago when two dogs were left locked in a car.

Bamaluz · 29/06/2025 14:48

This explains how hot cars get on the inside.

Had an incident with a woman this morning who’d left her dog in a hot car.
MyKingdomForACat · 29/06/2025 14:47

People are just aggressive cunts. Poor doggy

mydogisthebest · 29/06/2025 14:46

You definitely did the right thing. I don't know why some people have dogs if they can't look after them properly.

Me and DH walked our dog at 10pm yesterday after checking that the pavement was not hot. This morning he was walked in the woods at 6am.

He is presently asleep on the sofa with a fan blowing on him.

Dandelionsand4leafclover · 29/06/2025 14:26

Well done OP. Don't delete the photo. Next time though ring 999.

endofthelinefinally · 29/06/2025 14:25

WhereIsMyJumper · 29/06/2025 13:14

Thankfully someone said it, 20 degrees is not hot. I thought I was going mad for a minute

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Have you never stepped into a greenhouse?

BIossomtoes · 29/06/2025 14:25

TeenLifeMum · 29/06/2025 11:47

So you watched a dog suffering and took photos for 10 minutes? I’m not sure you’re the hero in the piece you think you are. She was clearly wrong and you can legally keep your photos for your fb rant on the local group later.

What was she supposed to do? Break the windows?

Bamaluz · 29/06/2025 14:23

For all of those saying 20 degrees is not hot, it would have been significantly hotter inside the car, especially as it was parked in the sun.
I've seen a chart explaining this, I'll see if I can find it.

Original poster
SquashMeDown · 29/06/2025 14:16

WhereIsMyJumper · 29/06/2025 13:14

Thankfully someone said it, 20 degrees is not hot. I thought I was going mad for a minute

Show quote history

The car was standing in full sun, the windows barely open but with wind deflectors that affect ventilation.

I was out of my car for just over 10 minutes and it was like an oven.

OP posts:
CanOfMangoTango · 29/06/2025 13:42

Yeah i accidentally got locked in our car once for ten minutes on a warm day.

I'll be honest I did start to panic a bit, there's no air and you can feel it gradually getting warmer😳

Cars get warm very quickly. After that experience I wouldn't hesitate ringing the police if I saw a dog in a car.

Iwillclasptheeagain · 29/06/2025 13:34

People who think 20deg is fine, think about how greenhouses work. Then imagine sitting in one on a summer's day with your fur coat on

(Where I am in the South, it was already hotter than that outside at 8am, however)