Neighbours dog left in the car in the cold

foreign_correspondent

A parked car, being a metal and glass box, loses heat very quickly, even with the windows closed. Having slept, or tried to sleep in a camper van a few weeks ago, I can attest that there is very little difference between the temperature inside and out!

If this dog is used to being in a centrally heated house it will not have a full coat, and will feel the cold.

It is also exceptionally cold at the moment, well below the temperatures we experience for the vast majority of the year.

cyberbob

It will actually be colder in the car than outside (because its metal) You try sitting in a car for 2 hours in weather like this.

Yes it may not be high level animal neglect but its still neglect no matter what. The other question is if the owner thinks its ok to do this what else do they think its ok to do.

If its used to an indoor life its core temperature could very easily drop to dangerous levels in 2 hours. Once the core temperature starts to drop it doesn't take long for hypothermia to kick in. I'm sure if it was a hot car you wouldn't be so blase. It can be just as dangerous to leave a dog in a cold car as a hot car as the cars metal almost acts as a refrigerator so the inside of a car will be quite a few degrees cooler than the outside

foreign_correspondent

It will be as cold, but not colder than outside, and of course there will be no wind chill.

Mutter_2

minimadtrix wrote: »

This is an animal welfare issue - it's cruelty, albeit on a lower scale to your bear comparison. And yes I would be reporting the matter to the RPSCA as I'm sure many other animal campaigners would

Well good luck matey on your fruitless quest, unless you have a camera crew in tow of course.

As for the dogs shut up in warm cars. Please give a thought to all those in unheated kennels.

Not only the remaining few at the RSPCA but the many Police working dogs.

Not for them a warm car. Just a Brhrrr kennel. Report them demented and miimi. Let us know how you get on.
I am restraining myself.

minimadtrix

Mutter wrote: »

Well good luck matey on your fruitless quest, unless you have a camera crew in tow of course.

As for the dogs shut up in warm cars. Please give a thought to all those in unheated kennels.

Not only the remaining few at the RSPCA but the many Police working dogs.

Not for them a warm car. Just a Brhrrr kennel. Report them demented and miimi. Let us know how you get on.
I am restraining myself.

Nice to know you're just being abusive to me and Demented .... cyberbob and foreign correspondent have said the same as me but then you probably can't spell their names. It's Mini BTW not miimi!

lostinrates

I think its great people are concerned, but a cold car is very different to a hot car. Cold but dry and with no wind chill, is something fur is actually well designed to deal with. the afternoon is probably the last bitter time of day at the moment.

Is been still and dry here and our three dogs have been loving it, spending most of the morning outside...in the wind chill, but of course they had more freedom to move around to keep warm. For about an hour the greyhound was out without a coat on: and has considerably less hair and insulation than the average KC spaniel. The show gun dogs I walk have been outside in their run all day: ith the wind chill....they have a heated kennel but have preet much ignored it their owner told me.

I think its the sort of thing that would concern me too, but perhps less so, on the general circumstance ...as is suggested, I'd want to judge it on the dog its self..is it shivering or distressed? how long is it left there? what provision has been made for it, but primarily how well is the dog coping? If there is a problem with the dog perhaps someone can help?

Is the spaniel not causing similar noise disturbance from the car though? And could not a neighbour beenfit from its company during the owners absense?

Oldernotwiser

niceday999 wrote: »

... Would you like to be stuck in the car for hours on end.......

I wouldn't like to sleep on the floor or drink water out of a bowl either - but then, I'm not a dog!

Apricot

I would report her. It is cruel to leave an ordinarily indoor dog in sub zero temperatures, with no water, no food and no room to run around. No responsible pet owner would do this.

MrsTinks

Firstly - please can everyone be nice to all money savers - there is no need to be calling names or being abusive or calling people stupid etc... That's just childish.

Secondly - I had to sit in the car for 25 minutes yesterday waiting for hubby to have his hair cut - small baby in car seat (in polarbear like outfit) asleep and I didn't want to wake her... So I turned the car off and waited... OMG it got cold almost instantly and this is a new car! Because the outside temp was -4 it wasn't long before the inside temp was too and I can promise you I didn't have a window open!
I was shivering despite fleece and jumpers by the time hubby came back!
Police dogs and dogs that live out regularly will be fine in an outdoor kennel - because they are acclimatised to being outside and have developed a winter coat. Although even then they are not encouraged to develop too much of a coat and all have small "dens" with blankets in their kennels because if they get too heavy a coat it can affect them when working as they can actually overheat.
A pampered Spaniel is NOT acclimatised to sub zero temperatures and personally I don't think shutting it out in a car is responcible or safe for the dog. But that is why you report it to people who have the training to make that call...

Oh... and what on earth has bear torture got to do with a dog being potentially frozen to death? Is it evil? Certainly... has it got ANY relevance to this thread? Well - I certainly can't see any...

usernameisvalid

I dont think the RSPCA will be too bothered and to be honest if you have a problem with it - discuss it with the owner.

Many many dogs are left out in gardens for a "few hours" in the winter when they dont have outdoor dog coats (which are so much thicker then indoor dogs coats) and no body turns an eye. What this lady appears to have done ( as we only have the OP version) is to put her dog in a safe place where it wont bark and annoy the neighbours whilst she has had to go out for a while. As far as I can see the dog is sheltered and safe - what's cruel?