State Law on Dogs in car

lotus

lotus

New member
Wondering what your state law says about dogs being left in the car.
I usually take the newfs out everyday in the winter when I run errands. They love being in the car....cold blowing their fur.
Today it was 60 degree...so I took my shih tzu to the conveience store, only to come out and have this lady screaming in my face about my dog being in the car...my car read 68 degrees which is what my house usually is and i still keep a sweater on him.
She was relentess..tried to be respectful because she was about 70...started to bang on my window when i got in the car. Took all my will power not to punch her in the face. I called the Sheriff
She was relentless with him so he made me get back in my car.
He explained while it was not too hot...that MVA says you cant leave a dog in the car unattended. I NEVER knew this because I always see people with dogs waiting in cars. THIS IS ON A REGULAR DAY...NOT A HOT SUMMER day or unusually warm day.

I called the MVA and they said they didnt' know anything about it.
Called another Police Dept. and they said the dog cant be in any danger or neglectful way....ex. temperature over a certain degree in car. Looked it up on the internet and it again said danger or neglectful way. Now I'm confused.
Side note...i parked my car next to a County Police car when I went into the convenience store and the cop was talking to my dog then got in his car and left never saying a word to me.
 
B

BLCOLE

Active member
lotus said:
Wondering what your state law says about dogs being left in the car.
I usually take the newfs out everyday in the winter when I run errands. They love being in the car....cold blowing their fur.
Today it was 60 degree...so I took my shih tzu to the conveience store, only to come out and have this lady screaming in my face about my dog being in the car...my car read 68 degrees which is what my house usually is and i still keep a sweater on him.
She was relentess..tried to be respectful because she was about 70...started to bang on my window when i got in the car. Took all my will power not to punch her in the face. I called the Sheriff
She was relentless with him so he made me get back in my car.
He explained while it was not too hot...that MVA says you cant leave a dog in the car unattended. I NEVER knew this because I always see people with dogs waiting in cars. THIS IS ON A REGULAR DAY...NOT A HOT SUMMER day or unusually warm day.

I called the MVA and they said they didnt' know anything about it.
Called another Police Dept. and they said the dog cant be in any danger or neglectful way....ex. temperature over a certain degree in car. Looked it up on the internet and it again said danger or neglectful way. Now I'm confused.
Side note...i parked my car next to a County Police car when I went into the convenience store and the cop was talking to my dog then got in his car and left never saying a word to me.
Click to expand...
I have a solution to this problem. First off, what kind of vehicle do you drive? I drive a station wagon with a tailgate in back. I was able to buy a cage door to fit over the tailgate opening of my car. This allows me to leave the tailgate of the car open without letting the dogs out... This allows the dogs free access to air circulation.

One of the many reasons I like my Volvo wagon. Volvo actually sells the gate that I am mentioning...
 
B

BLCOLE

Active member
And oh yes, I feel your pain. I went into a library a few years ago when the weather was similar to what you described. I left my Newf in the car WITH THE WINDOWS ROLLED DOWN. Mind you, it is only about 60 degrees out.

A few minutes later, I was confronted by this woman about leaving my dog in the car. Turns out, she was one of the mentally impaired street people who commonly hang out in libraries...
 
CMDRTED

CMDRTED

New member
As a retired Police Officer, I'll share a couple of observations with you.

1. Lots of police officers are very knowledgeable and many laws, etc. Dog laws are mainly not one they are familiar with, unless they work animal control on a regular basis.

2. Many police officers try to use good judgement in the enforcement of the law. They may see a violation, but due to the circumstances:

A. To minor.
B. No harm no foul.
C. They have more important fish to fry.

Hope it helps.
 
lotus

lotus

New member
CMDRTED said:
As a retired Police Officer, I'll share a couple of observations with you.

1. Lots of police officers are very knowledgeable and many laws, etc. Dog laws are mainly not one they are familiar with, unless they work animal control on a regular basis.

2. Many police officers try to use good judgement in the enforcement of the law. They may see a violation, but due to the circumstances:

A. To minor.
B. No harm no foul.
C. They have more important fish to fry.

Hope it helps.
Click to expand...
Makes much since.
 
TerriW

TerriW

Active member
I don't for the life of me know why a car manufacturer doesn't market a device to measure the presence of a "being" (animal or child) in a car - IF - the temp in the car goes over a certain temperature.

In other words, 100 degrees and something is moving in the car? Sound the alarm. Otherwise...

Unfortunately, children and dogs DO die in hot cars (not your situation, but it happens) and it is always so tragic when it does. Imagine if a big honking klaxon horn would go off in one of those cases. SMH. It's so simple. Should I patent it??
 
TerriW

TerriW

Active member
I just think they should be automatically installed, like seat belts or car alarms, to protect the innocent kids/dogs from people who DON'T know better...or from honest mistakes.
 
lotus

lotus

New member
Temperature aside......From my understanding in certain states you can not leave a dog unattended at ALL in the car....How does that work for people at shows...even with generators etc. If there is no human...breaking law period.
So I'm guessing it like CMDR stated....is it really worth it.
The really strange part is police are always wanting to meet the NEWFS when I have them in the car lol..come out of a store and someone is always peering in at them as others experience also I'm sure.
 
B

BLCOLE

Active member
TerriW said:
I don't for the life of me know why a car manufacturer doesn't market a device to measure the presence of a "being" (animal or child) in a car -
Click to expand...
Volvo has what is called a "Personal Car Communicator" or PCC as an option on many of its models. It can detect the presence of a heartbeat in the car, and alert the driver. As far as I know, it doesn't measure interior temperature in the car, though...
 
TerriW

TerriW

Active member
BLCOLE said:
Volvo has what is called a "Personal Car Communicator" or PCC as an option on many of its models. It can detect the presence of a heartbeat in the car, and alert the driver. As far as I know, it doesn't measure interior temperature in the car, though...
Click to expand...
I wouldn't think the heartbeat is a big deal unless it's too hot in there. My (adult) kids wait in the car for me all the time. We have no problems producing cars that have car alarms as a matter of course, just to keep people from stealing the vehicle. You'd think saving even one life would make it worth it.
 
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