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

It would be much easier if you could explain to them! My two have been repeatedly asking to go out and think I’m being most unfair in saying no! They went out very briefly earlier this morning and will go out this evening, but they’re very grumpy atm…

When my phone app read 20 degrees two weeks ago, my car was reading 28.

I was full on reading that and thinking 'good on you' OP.

So I was really disappointed to read this nonsense....

"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?"

Why must people do this??

Why not just make a post to raise awareness, or even to slate the idiot who left her dog in a hot car?

No-one would argue with that but the bit at the end just makes you look ridiculously disingenuous.

It's not just you though, a lot of MNetters end a blindly obvious AIBU with a fake question.

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

You did exactly the right thing.

Last week I went past a car that had the engine turned on but was empty of humans There was a massive dog inside it and a plastic bespoke printed sign attached to the inside of the window saying 'we have the airconditioning on for our dog. he is fine and here is our number if you wish to call us'.

I thought that was a great idea.

I'm Australian and every summer we have advertisements about the dangers of leaving dogs in cars. (and the dangers of walking dogs on hot footpaths or sand) I have never seen that here and have certainly seen (and reported) dogs in cars on hot days here.

From RSPCA website.

What to do if you see a dog in a car on a warm day
First, assess the dog's condition. If they're showing any signs of heatstroke dial 999 at once.

If the dog's condition is critical, and the police haven't arrived yet, your instinct will be to break into the car to free them. But please be aware that this could be classed as criminal damage. You may need to defend your actions in court, so please be sure you're doing the right thing. Legally, you can commit damage if you believe the car owner would consent to it if they knew the dog was in danger.

If you're sure you need to free the dog, tell the police what you intend to do and why. Take photos or videos of the dog. Are there any other witnesses? Take their names and telephone numbers.

Don't be afraid to dial 999. If it's an emergency, we may not be able to get to you - and the dog - quickly enough. And as we have no powers of entry, we'd need to ask the police to help us rescue the dog. Don't worry - the police will soon let us know if the dog needs our help.

Don't wait 10". It's hotter in the car than outside.

Here, someone would call the cops and they would bust a window. If the dog seemed in distress, some might bust the window while waiting for the cops.

Fuck her animal abusing ass.

Awww my dog has been mad at me as well !!! Took him out 10pm last night for a walk ! I don’t take him out in this heat he doesn’t understand !!
I burnt my legs getting in my car yesterday god know a how hot it wud be for a dog !

What sort of car was it? Lots of modern cars, mine included, have “dog mode” or the ability to leave the Aircon running for a set amount of time. My car has heavily tinted windows so the dog isn’t really visible in the boot anyway, but I do still leave her to nip into the shop even in summer because I know she’s cool enough with the car the temperature of a fridge.

What a load of hyperbolic nonsense clearly written by someone who doesn’t own a dog! In the middle of winter or autumn it’s perfectly fine to leave a dog in the car ffs! Some dogs cannot be left at home or they’ll howl the entire time and/or destroy the house and/or themselves! Even in a crate. Especially rescue dogs…. Yet many of these dogs are perfectly happy in a cool car, knowing their owner is nearby. Educate yourself!

Unfortunately RSPCA won’t do anything. You’d be astonished as to how high their bar is now in order for them to get involved. If a dog is fed and sheltered then nothing else matters apparently. Funding issue.
So many people (understandably) think of the RSPCA as being like social services for animals but it couldn’t be more different

You don’t need her permission to take a photo. She was batshit. Maybe knew she was wrong so got defensive?!

I hope you didn't delete it.

I hate FB for this kind of crap.

Ye gods! My dog comes to work with me, sleeps in the car most days. I have a tail vent lock, shaded windows, leave the front windows cracked open and a wet towel at the tail gate. He is alone for up to 30 minutes ( yes, I know, but he gets a walk after every stop, meets lads of people and enjoys his days out more than he likes staying home)

But never, ever in warm weather. When the temperature rises he stays with dog walker and inside the house with next door popping in on him until the temperature drops off again

Not being aware of the very quick danger to dogs in cars these days is surely impossible. Having said all of that 20degrees? Windows open? It's was probably fine

10 minutes at 20 degrees with the window open should be fine, shouldn’t it? I’m not in the UK and 20 degrees is considered warm-ish here so I probably wouldn’t even think twice about doing this (although don’t have a dog so this is purely hypothetical!)

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.

@SquashMeDown well done OP ♥️

My poor darling dog was begging me for her usual walk this morning but I overslept and by 8am I had already missed the window to go- and she was lying in a puddle of drool in the hall. She is miffed with me for not taking her but I am not risking her in this heat. By 9am the lid of the garden bin was burning my hand. She is now lying in the shade of the trees in the garden, pooped out and annoyed at missing her morning walk, but not at imminent risk of heat exhaustion / death. The sun is coming over to her part of the garden so now I will make sure she goes inside to the northfacing rooms of the house, curtains closed and windows open.

I wish people would realise dogs are so much better off left at home in a darkened cool room with a bowl of water, miffed and disgruntled at being left behind but not at risk of death, than taken along in a moving oven on wheels

She sounds awful. She knew she was wrong.
But I'd also question if the situation was: the car in full shade, 20C, fine to leave the dog in the car for 10min with windows open properly where the dog is not distressed and barking at having been left alone. Still risky though as the owner could get delayed returning to the car.
Upset dog or higher temperature or no shade absolutely stupid thing to do.

I would have called the police.

I think the law should be changed so that leaving a dog in an unattended car more than a certain amount of time is a crime, regardless of temperature. With very few exceptions. If convicted, you get a lengthy driving ban and the dog is re-homed.

Or allow you to break into the car, though with modern locks, I am not sure how easy it would be to free a dog without them or you being injured.

The only thing I would have done differently is reported it but it’s possible the man who took a photo had done so or was going to check again 5 mins later. I THINK if you have time stamped photos showing the dog has been left longer than a few minutes (depending on temp/size/breed etc) a member of the public can break a car window. Obviously far better for a police officer to do so.
You were right to be concerned. Owner should have dropped dog back home and then gone to the shop.

I’d report her and put the pic on local fb groups
Shes an utter twat