Hot dog: shoppers aid dog left in car
Sarah Simpson, The Citizen
Published: Friday, July 31, 2009

When Krystal McNaughton and others saw an older black standard poodle dog in the back of an SUV Tuesday afternoon, while its owners shopped, she, and others in the Walmart parking lot were livid.

The mercury was over 30 degrees C and, no doubt, hotter inside the vehicle.

Worried for the dog's safety the small group that had gathered around the vehicle called the SPCA.

"As time passed and the SPCA never showed, I called 9-1-1 and the operator got a hold of the SPCA and they claimed they were too busy to deal with it," said McNaughton in an email to the Citizen.
The group of concerned shoppers tried the back hatch of the SUV and it was unlocked, so they opened it to give the dog some air.

Police, who have the authority to intervene if the SPCA is unavailable, had been dispatched but before they could arrive the elderly couple returned from their 30-minute shopping trip to the Supercentre.

"Angry words were exchanged between concerned citizens and the neglectful dog owners," said McNaughton, furious over the couple's nonchalance.

"Animals and children can't be left in vehicles in weather like this, and these people seem to think it is okay and that there is nothing wrong with doing this," she said.

The temperature inside a parked car at this time of year -- even one that's in the shade -- can climb to about 38 degrees C, according to the BC SPCA. Dogs can withstand high temperatures for only a very short time -- usually just 10 minutes -- before suffering irreparable brain damage or death.

McNaughton was angry that nobody from the SPCA or police showed up at the scene.

"I was given the run-around between the SPCA and the police and all I was trying to do was be a concerned citizen," she said. "I want the public to know about this situation because the SPCA and the police need to know that everyone knows that they aren't doing their job to protect the well being of animals."

Not so fast says the RCMP.

"At no point did we refuse to go," said Cpl. Darren Lagan, Vancouver Island spokesman for the RCMP. "In the event that the SPCA can't respond or is unable to respond, then we will still look into those situations and check on them."

He clarified what occurred in the incident.

"We received actually two separate calls," he explained. "On the first call when the details were given to us, apparently the SPCA had been spoken to ahead of us and said that they were not able to go, so when we got the call we said that we would be en route."

Lagan said police then received a second call saying the dog's owners were back at their vehicle. It was only then that the North Cowichan/ Duncan Watch Commander rerouted officers to other duties.

"We're not going to intervene on something that's resolved itself," said Lagan.

The dispatcher called the SPCA and advised them of the update and that the RCMP would not be following up, that it was the SPCA's responsibility.

"I can't say whether they did or not," he said.

Lagan said he knows some Mounties who wouldn't think twice about smashing out a vehicle's window to get animals out of situations like that.

"People often think no one cares and so on but we do," said Lagan.

© Cowichan Valley Citizen 2009