EDITOR:
Today my wife and I visited Walmart. We left our Jack Russsell terrier in the car, with all four windows at least half to three quarters open. He also had a bowl of water from which to drink. Our car is a Hummer H-1 with a light-colored convertible top.
Now, to my point. A very kind, thoughtful and know-it-all kind of person left a note on our windshield that our dog should not be left in the car. "It is too hot" the note said. This person does not know what he (she?) is talking about. Yes, it's a warm day (80-85 degrees). But, with the open windows, bowl of water and light colored cartop reflecting the sun's rays, our dog had no problem.
The last thing I would do is place my dog in harm's way. The real issue here may be that my car is a diesel-guzzling Hummer and has a "right wing extremist" bumper sticker on it. That alone would be enough to set off any left wing type. But, I'll never know for sure as the person didn't sign the note or leave a contact number.
Oh, by the way. When I parked, there was a car in the adjacent space that had a Labrador Retriever sitting in it. The car and dog were still there when we returned to our car, and guess what? That car had no note on the windshield. Wonder why?
Anyway, the danger here is that this person may be writing a similar letter to the editor, explaining the danger of leaving animals in hot cars etc. etc. There ought to be laws, he'll say. What I say is that people should use common sense when approaching a situation like this. I almost wish that he had called the police or animal control. I'm sure that either of these two agencies would have evaluated the situation, realized that the temperature in the car was moderately warm, and, hopefully informed the busybody of this fact.
Thanks for letting me blow off some steam.
Steve Petrangelo
Gardnerville
