SPCA executive's dog dies, locked in car 4 hours

[TexasAda]

Very tragic.
Maybe one of these would help


http://uk.ebid.net/perl/auction.cgi?...943&mo=auction

.

Yes, I noticed that, Dan. I don't have a dog right now but would have bought one in an instant when I did.

Aside from the security provided by the dog itself, is there a feature of the window guard that keeps people from reaching in and unlocking your car door?

[MHTTrading]

This situation is about to change...the RSPCA are currently making headway towards getting the powers they need to enter homes and prosecute where needed.

It's been a long time coming but I welcome this change

Thats strange, because the RSPCA have always been set against having powers of entry for various reasons... however things do change so I'll have a chat with some of my ex colleagues who I still see regularly and I'll update on here if there is any changes afoot.

Things to consider though are that they would need a warrant of entry just like the police do, the only officials that can enter your property without a warrant are the Customs & Excise people ... quick hide those ciggies LOL

To date RSPCA cannot even seize an animal being mistreated on neglected, they can only request the owner signs over the animal to them, if they wish to seize the animal they have to call in the Police who can seize the animal under PACE procedures.
They can't even put forward a prosecution for neglect unless a vet agrees that neglect has caused suffering, even instances where neglect is obvious such as a horse with curly 12 inch hooves, obviously if the vet doesn't play ball they go to another vet who will.

[MHTTrading]

Very tragic.
Maybe one of these would help


http://uk.ebid.net/perl/auction.cgi?...943&mo=auction




.

Yes they would be a huge benefit but ideally you would need two to allow a flow through of air.
Some people seem to think its ok to leave a couple of windows open an inch or so...that is a complete waste of time.

In hot weather unless it is absolutely necessary leave the dog at home.
If you do have to take your dog then following these simple guidlines should mean your dog is alive when you get back to your car.

1.Park in a shaded area
2. Keep an eye on the sun as it moves around and if necessary move your car to another shaded spot.
3. If you are planning on being there a while keep going back to check the car.
4. Provide adequate ventilation such as the window vent shown.
5. NEVER leave a bowl of water in the car, this will make matters much worse as it raises the humidity which can accelerate the dogs death.

Warning signs
1. Dog quiet and subdued (if he's leaping around and barking he's fine - for now)
2. Panting heavily
3. Windows starting to steam up.
4. Dog laid down in lower part of the car such as the footwell

If you are at an event or out shopping and you see any of the warning signs the best and quickest thing to do is take down make and model of car, registration number, and have a chat with the event organiser or store manager and ask them to put out an announcement over the PA system.
If they won't co-operate then ring RSPCA immediately on 0800 1234 999, give them the vehicle details, its location (exactly where on the car park), also note if the car has a parking ticket showing an expiry time or some indication of how long the car has been there, and what breed of dog... if you don't know the breed what colour is it, large or small, short or long haired (it all helps).

[moonwitch]

Thats strange, because the RSPCA have always been set against having powers of entry for various reasons... however things do change so I'll have a chat with some of my ex colleagues who I still see regularly and I'll update on here if there is any changes afoot.

Things to consider though are that they would need a warrant of entry just like the police do, the only officials that can enter your property without a warrant are the Customs & Excise people ... quick hide those ciggies LOL

To date RSPCA cannot even seize an animal being mistreated on neglected, they can only request the owner signs over the animal to them, if they wish to seize the animal they have to call in the Police who can seize the animal under PACE procedures.
They can't even put forward a prosecution for neglect unless a vet agrees that neglect has caused suffering, even instances where neglect is obvious such as a horse with curly 12 inch hooves, obviously if the vet doesn't play ball they go to another vet who will.

My information is from literature sent to me recently during the RSPCA's latest campaign to change how prosecutions are made.

I only heard about these changes a couple of months ago and since I am getting that info from the RSPCA fundraising team..they must have changed some of their views recently

[moonwitch]

Just found this on the RSPCA site

About the animal welfare act

My understanding is that the changes include animals being able to be taken away (by police) before a prosecution is started......haven't a clue what that will mean in practice as I don't keep pets.

[deltadelta48]

In US the police will break the windows and rescue the pet or children from a locked car in very short order. Most states have a fine or even jail time for cruelty to animals, in Wisconsin it is $10,000+ and 3 years in jail, so it is taken seriously.

In this case, I think the husband who locked the dog in the car should get the fine and punishment. Who puts an old blind/deaf dog into the car and forgets to tell the driver? Why she saw nothing is hard to understand, and why no one spotted the dog in the car and rescued it is sad indeed.

The temperature does not have to be high to kill a child or pet in a locked car. The very young and/or compromised can die very quickly in a locked car on even mild days. As I mentioned before we had a case of a tiny babe, maybe 6 weeks old left in a van at his daycare for 5-6 hours in 50F and he died from exposure/heatstroke because his little body just could not regulate his temp. Same with this old dog I suspect.

Poor old thing should have been sleeping on the nice cool kitchen floor instead of riding around in the backseat of a car in 90F heat! Don't care how much good she did for the SPCA, she should resign and charges should be pressed against her and hubby. If she headed a child abuse center and her child was abused, would she be allowed to keep her job and run the place?

[Armstrongs]

If you are at an event or out shopping and you see any of the warning signs the best and quickest thing to do is take down make and model of car, registration number, and have a chat with the event organiser or store manager and ask them to put out an announcement over the PA system.
If they won't co-operate then ring RSPCA immediately on 0800 1234 999, give them the vehicle details, its location (exactly where on the car park), also note if the car has a parking ticket showing an expiry time or some indication of how long the car has been there, and what breed of dog... if you don't know the breed what colour is it, large or small, short or long haired (it all helps).

I was at a County Show a couple of years ago, and it was a red hot day, ....... it came over the PA system.....would the owner of car registration xyz please return to your car and attend to your distressed dog!
"You have exactly five minutes to attend.......and if you do not.......then we are going to break the car windows to get the dog out !!"

There was rather a loud cheer from the crowd

Yvonne x

[marschenegger]

Poor old 16 year old dog died in a hot car. Very sad.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32569213...life?gt1=43001

At least it was just a dog, not a person.

[MHTTrading]

Just found this on the RSPCA site

About the animal welfare act

My understanding is that the changes include animals being able to be taken away (by police) before a prosecution is started......haven't a clue what that will mean in practice as I don't keep pets.

Its basically what I said earlier that an RSPCA inspector has to get the police involved in order to remove an animal, if a police officer removes an animal he simply hands it over to the RSPCA as the police don't have holding facilities for animals. Thats why nowadays the police won't take stray dogs as they lost the funding and no longer have kennels, stray healthy dogs are now the responsiblity of the local council dog warden.
The RSPCA can't help with healthy stray dogs either, they can only accept them for rehoming by the owner,that is if there is a space available for them.

[MHTTrading]

My information is from literature sent to me recently during the RSPCA's latest campaign to change how prosecutions are made.

I only heard about these changes a couple of months ago and since I am getting that info from the RSPCA fundraising team..they must have changed some of their views recently

Maybe they have, I'll check it out and get back with the answer.