Is this harmfull?

[jenaust]

I have a little dog I take alot of places with me and when she cant come into the store/business with me I will just leave her in the car with it on and the a/c running. *on extra warm days* Is this okay to do? Am I harming my car any?

[Martini]

Harmful? Hmm.. probably not.. but seems best to maybe leave the dog at home. Wouldn't it pose risk to getting the car stolen? I mean, it's already running, all they have to do is break in and drive off...

[BBISHOPPCM]

I have a few problems with this...

1) Dogs can easily succumb to heat exhaustion and die, AC running or not. Most A/C systems in 4 cylinder cars are not very strong, and simply idling in a parking lot with the sun beating down on the car can equal a very hot car and a very dead dog, especially with the percentage of glass surface area in the Versa.

2) Dogs can destroy new upholstery in just a few minutes.

3) Animal rights activists love to take matters into their own hands, and have been known to smash car windows if they happen to see an unattended pet within.

4) The above happened to a friend of mine recently, on a cool day. His dog was never seen again, and he was left with a busted window in his 1986 Renault.

5) An unattended running car in a public place is illegal in most areas, and unless the car is fitted with a timed remote car starter, is an easy target for car thieves, locked or not.

[BillyBeaneBall]

At least you had on the A/C. My gf saw a dog in a car today parked and turned off (85 degrees F) and called the cops.

I used to do what you did with my little dog once in a great while. But on hot or warm days I really tried to avoid it. But he never ripped up my upholstry, LOL, he bled all over the interior once after a trip to the vet to cut his nails and they nipped his quick and we didn't notice until we got back to the car and saw small blood spots all over the place poor little guy! But he was OK

[mindpenn]

I have a little dog I take alot of places with me and when she cant come into the store/business with me I will just leave her in the car with it on and the a/c running. *on extra warm days* Is this okay to do? Am I harming my car any?

The dog will be safer at home, I bet he would appreciate that.

http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/...s.php

[Rockhound]

I'd say if you wouldn't do this to a child (I'd certainly hope not), you shouldn't do it to your pet. BBISHOPPCM made a great point (several, actually) about the A/C running - when your car is parked the A/C is far less efficient than when you're driving down the street.

[lain]

My mom use to leave me in the car all the time. I would just fall asleep cause she would go to the market. Most of the time it was cause I choose to and didn't want to go.

[Rockhound]

My mom use to leave me in the car all the time. I would just fall asleep cause she would go to the market. Most of the time it was cause I choose to and didn't want to go.

So that makes it okay, then? No offense to your mom, but that's just not a good idea.

Just about every summer, a child dies from being left in a hot car in the Tulsa area (and I'm sure plenty of cases occur across the country as well). It's become such a problem around here that they run TV commercials in the summer about "don't leave your kid in the car". People crack their windows a bit and think "I'll only be gone a minute" - but the interior temp rises incredibly fast. Children and pets are fairly sensitive to high temperatures.

Plus, I recall several car-theft child abductions taking place in the last few years as well.

I'd hope you'd realize that it isn't the wisest thing to leave a child/pet unattended in your car while you shop, no matter the weather conditions or duration of time.

[srellim234]

Here's a great fact sheet from the Department of Geosciences at San Francisco University.

http://ggweather.com/heat/

Read it carefully; you'll never leave a child or animal in a car intentionally again.

By the way, SB1806 passed by the legislature in 2006 and signed by the governor make leaving that animal in a car unattended illegal in the state of California.
Modified by srellim234 at 9:52 AM 9/20/2007

[Rockhound]

Here's a great fact sheet from the Department of Geosciences at San Francisco University.

http://ggweather.com/heat/

Read it carefully; you'll never leave a child or animal in a car intentionally again.

By the way, SB1806 passed by the legislature in 2006 and signed by the governor make leaving that animal in a car unattended illegal in the state of California.

Modified by srellim234 at 9:52 AM 9/20/2007

That's some good, albeit sad, information.

I just noticed that Jenaust is from Mohave Valley, Arizona? Sheesh, what constitutes an *extra warm day*?

Here's the average temps for Mohave Valley via Weather.com:



Using the info from that link, if it was 109°F outside, in 10 minutes it would be ~128°F in the car and in 20 minutes it could be up to 138°F. That's brutal.

[Ever Victorious]

Harming the car... not really.

Breaking the laws... absolutely. As was mentioned earlier, in many MANY places it is illegal to leave a running vehicle unattended. In some places it is illegal to leave an animal unattended inside a vehicle.

Besides, the air conditioner in your house is WAY better than the air conditioner in your V.

[jenaust]

I would NEVER take her anywhere with me in the summer when it is easily over 110 degrees. *guess I should have been a little more detailed*I take her places with me in the late fall/winter when it might get up to the mid 70's - low 80's. I had no idea how much of a touchy subject this would be. I now feel like you all think I am a horrible pet owner. I would never do anything to hurt my dog (or any animal for that matter!).

[lain]

Nobody here thinks you are a horrible pet owner. Like you said we didn't know the details and assume you were uninformed. Just be careful because some people are pet freaks and will go crazy if they see an animal left unattended in a car.

I'm sure you can bring you pet with you in the stores...matter if you have a little doggy or a really big doggy. BIG doggies should be left at home for the fact that they are big. Little doggies I think you can take with you to the market and put them in that little area where you would put a baby. If anyone gives you any problems then ask for the manager. If he gives you a problem then just leave im sure there is another market near by that would allow you to bring your LITTLE pet with you inside as long as it looks like your in control.

Man you guys are harsh on her.

[marleyfan]

You're only a horrible pet owner if you are aware of the increase in temp of the vehicle and the effect on a small dog and yet choose to do it anyway. Now that you are aware and obviously care for your pet I suspect that you will make a better choice.

[jenaust]

Thanks to everyone for your responses!

[audtatious]

Realize it's OK to leave cats in a sealed hot car.......



Twaz a joke.....

[BBISHOPPCM]

...And Chihuahuas, as they arn't real dogs to begin with.

[Woogie]

I would NEVER take her anywhere with me in the summer when it is easily over 110 degrees. *guess I should have been a little more detailed*I take her places with me in the late fall/winter when it might get up to the mid 70's - low 80's. I had no idea how much of a touchy subject this would be. I now feel like you all think I am a horrible pet owner. I would never do anything to hurt my dog (or any animal for that matter!).

Mid 70s low 80s is still too hot to have an animal left in a car. I'd advise looking at this web page, and paying special attention to the 'How hot do cars get?' ink:

http://www.mydogiscool.com/

They took measurements from a car over a three day period with and without cracked windows, and comparing the interior temps with the exterior temps. Notice that the first readings of the day are within the range you describe.

While you could leave the car idling with the AC on, aside from the previously mentioned legal issues, there have been cases where cars have overheated and shut the engine off or the AC malfunctioned and the animal(s) inside perished.

I actually found a little dog locked in a car when the outside temp was 75, with the car parked in the middle of a mall parking lot with all the windows rolled up. The dog was panting like crazy, and I called mall security on my cell phone. They came out, opened the door, and got the dog out. The whole thing took about 20 minutes, and during that time there was no sign of the owners.

Your dog would be better off left at home.