Home Depot Pet Police Should Leave Me Alone

I agree with you that people should just "get a life" Clearly you love
your dog to bring him with you for the drive, clearly you did nothing
wrong. Some people just look for drama, it make them feel good about
themselves lol. Why should you leave your dog home alone when he is
much happier with your company. If anybody says anything to me about
it I will just bring my dog in the store especially if they want to
compare my dog to a child because i would bring my child in the store
with me. The person who complained clearly thinks dogs should be left
at home all alone and is not an animal lover and probably hates people
as well :)

Kudos to Home Depot. I'll definitely give them more of my business
after hearing this story and am even going to write them a letter
thanking them for their policy. As far as I'm concerned, you are an
irresponsible pet owner. You should NEVER leave your dog unattended in
the car. Period. Don't try to deflect YOUR lack of judgment on to Home
Depot when they were doing the responsible thing. You don't deserve to
have an animal in your life if this is how you treat them.

If it was 20 degrees out the windows were down and you were gone about
20 minutes I think that is fine.. If it was hot or incredably cold
that would be different ... for all of you who think 20 is that cold
you are silly.. not for a dog for a couple minutes. I think people who
put dogs in purses and put sweaters on them are cruel. I think people
who leave there dog at home all the time and dont take them on walks
everyday are cruel I think people who dont trim there nails or leave
food and water them are cruel. But a contractors dog is not going to
be a prissy little bitch... it is going to be a real dog. People who
site laws without using common sence are ruining this country.... a
good rule would be if I could sit in the car for 20 min with the
engine off the windows cracked and be comphy... then so can the dog.
People who keep their animals with them all the time are enriching the
animal and their own life.... of course you cannot leave a child alone
if someone stole your child it would be for evil reasons.... DOGS ARE
NOT CHILDREN they are dogs. Silly... I am pritty sure allot of home
depots and lowes let you bring in your dog... at least I always do...
NEVER BEEN TOLD NOT TO the employees pet her and love on her maybe you
can at your local store also

what kind of "man" makes fun of the parking spots designated for women
who are expecting/women with children. you think because some places
have the decency to reserve spots for women who have to lug around a
30 pound carseat/kid while making sure any other children aren't
getting ran over in the parking lot...that they should have a
"contractor with dogs" space?

oh, and let me tell you without a doubt....if one of us "women with
children" you are so condescending about were to leave our child in
the car when it's 73 degrees and our defense was that 3 windows were
left down 3 inches....we'd be in JAIL...not whining about how
businesses should accomidate people's pets while they shop. just
because women with children are allowed to PARK closer to the store
doesn't mean someone comes outside and tends to their children while
they shop. leave your dog at home if you're going somewhere that is
going to cause you to leave them in a hot car...plain and simple.

after reading the overwhelmingly similar replies, and believing that
the owner genuinely does care about his dog and really didn't realize
the facts about how hot a car can get and how fast, i'm sure that he
will not leave his dog in the car again. it's not a subject that i've
given a lot of thought to since i don't do it myself...i take my dog
into home depot with me here in texas...they often stock dog treats
behind the register at mine and it keeps me going back there...and i'm
in animal rescue! i noticed a two door mercedes the other night,
windows up, it was cooler than usual, no sun, about 70 with night
falling...poodle in car. i figured the dog was prob fine due to all
of the above. now, after reading the evidence here about how fast the
cars heat up (which i knew but i honestly was thinking night falling,
cool temps getting cooler etc although the windows being up bothered
me) if i ever see that again, i'm going straight back into walmart, or
wherever i am, and reporting it. if they do nothing, i'm calling the
cops. thanks to all of you and your input, most of which was very
factual, i was reminded yet again that animals don't do well in locked
cars regardless of the temperature. i'm sure this gentleman with his
dog will make the right choice and see these replies as a reminder not
to leave his dog in the cab. a crate in the back of his truck would
be safer for the dog while he's in the store if it's an open bed...a
piece of cardboard can be put over the crate's top and underneath it
to provide shade and prevent heat from radiating up into the crate
from below also. any other suggestions from folks who love to take
their companions with them but perhaps not into the store, i'm sure
would be welcome.

IT'S ILLEGAL TO LEAVE A PET IN A CAR!!! PERIOD!

I am an Animal Control Officer here in Missouri. I can tell you that
it is illegal here to leave an animal left alone in a vehicle for any
length of time. This is because noone can predict what will happen.
Also besides the heat, some dogs can inadvetantly open the door. This
can also be a safety issue. My general rule is if you dont want to be
locked in the car, then dont do it to them.

I hate when anyone leaves a animal in a vehicle for any reason for any
amount of time, regardless of windows open or cloudy and cool outside.


In my state it's considered 'animal cruelty' and punishable with a
fine, citation, community service and or jail time.

Your pet should stay at home if you plan to run errands where you
can't take him inside with you.

I would have called the cops if I had seen it personally (and I do
every time I see it), and let them handle the situation. Pet's don't
have a voice of their own so we have to be the voice.

Good on the employee!

Shame on you!

I think the dogs should be left at home and their would not be any
problems! That's a pet peeve i have is to watch someone leave there
animals in their trucks or cars with nobody watching them! Animals
need to be left at home unless its a service dog then that's a
different story! But that's just my opinion so take it with a grain of
salt if you may! Remember this is America and everyone is entitled to
their own opinion! Peace

if home depot is anything like lowes you were in there forever.the
lowes in hammond la. is hard to get out of because no one will help
you find what you need

First, Humane Societies in some jurisdictions do function as police
and can make arrests for animal cruelty for leaving animals in hot
vehicles.

Secondly, I would have summoned a police about the animal being left
locked in a hot vehicle in the sun since that is an offense called
"cruelty to Animals" where I live and carries a minimum $500 fine,
community service, and possible jail time.

Kudos to the Home Depot employee. job well done. Ten lashes with a
wet noodle to the perso leaving the pet in the hot, unattended
vehicle!!!

Whoever the employee was, obviously did not know what she was doing.
First of all, Home Depot sells thermometers. She could have gauged
the temp in the truck. Second, the Humane Society is who she would
call to adopt a dog, not report abuse. Third, it is not Home Depot's
concern to react to animal abuse. They leave up to the professionals:
Sherrif's Dept., Animal Control, Police, etc. Fourth, I would highly
recommend speaking to the G.M. of the store and let them know how
embarrassing it is to be announced publicly that your dog is in
danger.

I deal with this on a regular basis, and she should have been more
professional.

Next time, take your dog in with you. If you can't do that, then
don't take your dog.

It is all part of a movement to make us subservient to animals. The
PETA kooks and others put more value in a dog than a human.

You don't do this in Phoenix, Houston, Las Vegas or Miami, but for
crying out loud, you are in CANADA.

Next time you see a PETA booth or anyone preaching political
correctness, tell them where to shove it. I gave up on Home Depot a
long time ago, so can't help you there. I drive past two Home Dept
stores to get to my favorite Ace Hardware store. Some things are
cheaper and some are not - but they always treat me like gold & I
never have to go searching for help.

And I don't have to walk three clicks round trip to buy nails.

And the kid invented the Air conditioner for parked cars with dogs in
it? I totally would have bought one!!

I never believed how hot it would get in a car, until one day it was
70, I left my dog for 10 mins, came back and he ws panting like
crazy!

Never again,unless the air conditioning is on, which wont' happen if
i'm not in the car. :\

Saw on the news last night about a guy that left his dog in a car, in
the shade, with a bit of water, windows were down half way. It was
STILL 95 in the car. Animal Control came, Took the dog OUT of the
car, waited for the guy o come back. HALF HOUR later he came back,
wondered what the problem was. Told the Animal Control that he was
planing on LEAVING the dog another HOUR. Got a $150 citation for it.
Temps outside yesterday reached 106 and will be 107 today. Don't
leave your dog in the car!

At around 70 degrees F (about 20 or so C), your dog was probably going
to be fine, but don't be too hard on the employee, who didn't know how
much longer the owner might be inside the store, and undoubtably is an
animal lover who was genuinely concerned about your dog. In the
remote event that the day was hotter, and you had inadvertently been
delayed, and you had forgotten or lost track of the time (I realize
this combo would never occur with you, but we're being hypothetical
here), you would have been grateful for her nosiness and intervention.
Maybe she could be excused on the grounds of temporary insanity. It
happens to me when I see a dog or other animal, nevermind a child,
inside a car on a sunny day over 70 degrees or so. I get very
concerned, and am not comfortable until I see someone go to the car.
Yep, I keep returning to take a look & make sure someone has done
that. Call it temporary insanity, but I'd rather be chewed out by
someone than let a creature of any kind suffer that kind of death.

If you have a Lowe's you should go there from now on. They let you
bring your dog inside, it's great! If I need to leave the pups in the
car and it's warm outside I always leave the car running with the A/C
on. I am able to still lock it up and I always set the brake (Not
like they'd throw it in drive and speed away or anything).

In today's paper is the story of a day care worker being sentenced in
the death of a child. The child was left in a car for five hours.
Tests revealed that even though it was only in the 50s (!!!) that day,
it reached over 100 degrees within half an hour.

A possible solution I thought of for the OP was something that I saw
in use by the police the other day. I walked by a police car downtown
with a police dog in the back and the officer had stepped away to who
knows where. There were metal screens covering the windows so there
was adequate ventilation and protection as well. Maybe the OP should
consider investing in such an option.

It was 70 out this morning. I got to where I was going early and sat
in the car to eat. I put the windows up almost all the way, about 1-2
inches from the top. I was going to get out soon and leave the
windows at that level. I have a dark car, was wearing an dark shirt
and was in the sun. I was in the car like that about 5 minutes and I
was COOKING! It got HOT in the car FAST. I was able to get out. If I
would have been a dog, I would have been stuck for longer and I bet a
heck of a lot HOTTER. PLEASE! PLEASE! Don't leave your dog in the
car even for a few moments.

From the Oregon Humane Society web site:

The Oregon Humane Society encourages you to leave your pet home and
inside when you dash to the store or the mall. The inside of a car
heats up very quickly. On an 85 degree day, a car's interior
temperature can climb to 120 degrees in 20 minutes, even with the
windows slightly open. Another concern is dogs riding on uncovered
pickup beds. The sun heats up the metal truck bed and can burn your
pet's pads. Have Rover ride in the cab with you, put him in a secure
crate, or please leave him at home and inside a cool place.

I ran an errand with my husband today. The temperature outside was 77
degrees with no real breeze and a mixture of sun and clouds. He
waited in the car while I went inside a store. The car was turned
off, and the two front windows were down halfway. When I returned to
the car around 15 minutes later, it was quite comfortable. We could
have easily done without air-conditioning. In fact, when he turned
it on I was freezing.

I'm not trying to convince anyone that it's okay to leave dogs in
cars. But it's not always wrong either. If a call was made to the
police or Humane Society every time a dog was unattended in a car, it
would eventually be like crying wolf.

Ok I don't understand the problem here. I have lived around animals my
whole life. If it was in the 80's or 90's out yeah I might see a
issue, but then 15 mins be real folks 20 degrees that is below
freezing last time I looked.

So before we get too pious how many of you own dogs, and how many of
you take your dog with you, or just leave them cooped up in the house
or backyard. That is the cruel part. This gentleman likes to take his
dog with him, he has my vote, must be a good owner and a good friend.


Now for the lady at the Home Depot, there may have been issues there
before, after you explained it to her though she should have backed
down. Common sense should have a place somewhere in the whole
situation.

Here's an interesting blog about dogs and cars:

http://tinyurl.com/rb4kdy

There's not much else I can say on it... except that they did the
right thing.

"minding their own business" does not apply in a situation like that,
nor should it ever.

Hey, at least they did not call the cops right away. That's probably
what I would have done. 72 degrees outside = 100 degrees inside the
car. That's animal cruelty.

I just can not imagine leaving any pet in the car in any temp! How
irresponsible do you have to be? If your pet is truly your friend,
then you wouldnt leave it in a car PERIOD! Your luck you dont live in
Texas, cause you just commited a crime.

Your dog is your friend and you are upset because a Home Depot
employee cares enough about animal welfare to inform you that he/she
felt it was too hot outside for your dog to be in your vehicle?

You should be thankful that a stranger cared enough to question the
welfare of your FRIEND. If I had been there, I would've got your dog
out of the vehicle and called the police or the humane society. If
something bad had happened, would you have blamed Home Depot employees
or other shoppers for not looking out for your dog?

A understand exactly where you are coming from regarding
companionship.

My focus in this was the initial reaction of the OP to the employees.
Then the whole threatening to call the authorities thing happened, and
the conversation essentially stopped being a conversation.

I personally think it is a great thing that a store's employees at a
place like HD are on the lookout for the *possibility* of a problem.
I can spend over an hour in HD.

If someone approached me in an appropriate manner, and expressed
concern about my dog in my car, I would be thankful (even if I thought
there wasn't an impending problem).

Unfortunately this whole interaction went haywire, and I don't think
much productive resulted. Maybe in the future HD employees will act a
bit differently.

As far as this statement: "I think people know their own pets and
handle them accordingly," what you say may be true for 98% of pet
owners, but who's looking out for the welfare of thousands of pets
that make up the other 2%? We know for a fact people leave not only
pets to die on cars, but children too.

Are people to walk past, see a potential developing problem, and say
to themselves "the parent must be responsible, he'll be back," and go
on their way?

The employee's dramatic approach was unnecessary and only resulted in
making the letter writer defensive instead of receptive. She accused
him of something without knowing everything she needed to know in
order to make a decision and did it in a way that alerted the entire
store. Of course he was going to react the way he did.

I know I'm giving this way too much thought, but after seeing my
neighbor's dog suffer for so many years, I became very sensitive to
animals' feelings even though I do not have a pet myself. I think
most people who commented here can't get passed the fact that the dog
was in the car, much like the HD employee. Because there are things
we don't know that need to be considered, I think it's unfair to
chastise the letter writer.

The other thing that's bothering me is that I do believe some people
look the other way when they see children left in cars. Too many
children die each year, and I can't help wondering who's looking out
for them. I certainly hope the employee at Home Depot is.

I know a dog is different from a child, but most people I know treat
their animals as a beloved member of the family.
Just today in Virginia - a family is without their 4-year old son -
why? because the child care worker left the child in the child care
van.
I praise the Home Depot employee for caring for animals and doing
something about what she saw as wrong.

If the dog happened to die you would of sued Home Depot?

I'm actually glad that Home Depot has someone looking out for pets
(and makes me want to do my shopping there from now on)

So many things I could say...holding back...

I'll put it this way. Would YOU want to sit in that car with the
windows down only a few inches?

Wow, I didnt know Home Depot had a police force yet alone a force that
specializes in dealing with pets. Things must be different in Canada.

As a fellow pet owner, I am glad people are watching out for pets left
in the car. I have read to many stores where pets are left in cars
only to get heat exhaustion.

If you don't like be scolded about leaving your pets in the car, then
leave them at home. This employee could have called the police next
time. Be greatful she only had to paged.

First of all, you weren't insulted. If you don't want everyone to
know your business don't take your dog out in your company vehicle
with your name plastered all over it.

Secondly, are you honestly comparing your dog (who is not permitted in
Home Depot unless he is a seeing eye dog - which would be scary enough
on it's own!) with a parent trying to wrangle 2 or 3 little kids into
the store?

Finally, why bring the dog out with you if you are just going to trap
him in the car? Unless you're going someplace where the dog can come
along, why not just leave him at home? Is it really worth taking the
dog along everywhere you go only to sit in the car alone while you do
your business? Will he really be happier there?

I blame Paris Hilton for this mess. Dogs are living, breathing things
- not accessories.

for leaving their dog in the car. It was 75 degrees outside, meaning
it was probably almost 100 inside the car. They dined for almost 45
minutes before it was brought to my attention by one of my employees.


They were angry with me, told me they do it all the time. I told them
they were irresponsible and asked them not to return.

Makes me sick.

I push carts at walmart, ive had people come up to me all frantic
because there is a dog in a car. the rule at my store is, if the
windows are cracked we can do nothing about it, if all windows are up
and the engine is off we can page the licence plate. i explained to
one lady that there was nothing i could do because the windows were
half way down. she started swearing at me and told me if i didnt break
the window open she was going to call animal control and the police
and have me arrested for animal neglect!

I agree that the best place for pets is at home, but unless its 105
degrees out, having the window cracked a few inches is plenty.

Tough call. I own 2 dogs, and they are very well taken care of. If
the temp was 70-ish degrees out, and I was just doing a quick errand,
I would leave them in the car for 15 minutes or so, with the windows
cracked. I don't "take my dogs shopping" so to speak, but I do live
far enough out in the country that if I am taking them to the dog park
or to the vet or whatever I may run a couple quick errands while I am
in town. Now, if it is 80-up, nope, they do not stay in the car. As
a dog owner, you have to use some common sense I think. I'm not going
to neglect my dogs or let any harm come to them, and if the temp was
what you said it was, then I would have done the same thing you did
and not thought much of it. I also always have water with me, and I
know how to recognize heat stroke/dehydration in animals.
It seems the employee might have jumped the gun a little bit. On her
end, she probably sees people (bad pet owners) leaving dogs in cars on
hot days for hours at a time all the time.

I own a Jeep Wrangler that I drive in the summer on nice days and
once left my dogs in this COMPLETELY OPEN vehicle (no top or doors)
with my friend and some crazy lady flipped out on her saying it was
too hot to have the dogs in a car...so yeah, some people take it a
little too far sometimes. If it was too hot for the dogs to be in
this vehicle, which was open and parked in the shade, then what do you
do with them? Not let them outside at all June-September?

We own a dog, a cat, a rabbit, a gecko, 4 turtles and...until
recently...we had a gerbil as well.

Not only would I never leave any of them in a car for any length of
time..I dont even leave the live worms we buy for the gecko sitting in
the car! I brought them all the way home the other day so they wouldnt
be sitting in my car while I did some other running around. And trust
me, my windows are ALWAYS down because I live in Florida and i dont
have AC in my car.

I am glad to see that everyone here agrees with the store employee.
And I, too, would be making a point to visit that store if I lived
nearby.

If you love and care for your dog so much, please leave it at home.

I read this letter again, more carefully, and it just seems that 73
degrees on a cloudy day, with three windows open three inches (a lot
more than cracked), for 15 minutes, wouldn't be enough for the inside
of the vehicle to reach a dangerous temperature. I see dogs in cars
under those conditions all the time, and they look fine to me. It
does seem like the employee was a little overzealous, and not very
nice about it either.

I admit that I don't know much about this because I don't have a dog,
but if the letter writer's description of the weather and time is
true, was the dog really at risk?

Go easy on me because not having a dog, I'm going on instinct only.

I agree with (almost) every single response below. I would also have
paged you and if you didn't repond quickly, would have called the
police without a second thought.

I can honestly say the only arguement I have ever started with a
stranger was over their dog locked up in their hot car.

I love my dog too, enough to keep him safe.

I live a short distance away from this particular Home Depot. I wonder
what day you went, since it has been sunny and fairly warm the last
few days. I agree it's not as hot as it usually is at this time of
year but according to the thermometre on my car this afternoon it was
24C (75F) There were a few moments of cloud, but nothing substantial.
There was also little breeze, so even with the windows open a crack,
there wasn't much air blowing through.

I plan on making a point of going to this store tomorrow and THANKING
them on behalf of our animal friends.

Did you consider that the employee could have been notified by another
customer who was concerned for your dog? Maybe somebody told the
manager and s/he delegated the task of finding the owner to this
cashier/ customer service rep. I doubt they have employees patrolling
the parking lot for dogs, so likely they were minding their own
business.
I agree with you that they should stay out of these matters, but at
the same time I did a little research and found out that what you did
can be dangerous to your pets. I have no dogs, so I am not too
familiar with this, but animal control frowns upon this practice from
my brief research.

Bravo, Home Depot, the answer to all your questions is YES

Bravo, Home Depot! I wish I lived in the area, I'd go and thank that
caring women for looking out for your dog.

Sorry but I am one who never took my pet in the car with me unless I
was taking him to the vet or running errands such as post office and
such where I could use a drive thru drop off box. Otherwise I cannot
see leaving any dog in any vehicle no matter what the temperature is
outside. Its just not right...some pets actually get seperation
anxiety when they see their owner walking away into a strange place.
They have no idea where they are or where you are for that matter.
Maybe it sounds silly but it happens more often than not.

How about leaving your pets at home when you decide to go shopping? I
will never understand people who feel the need to take their pets
shopping with them. I have owned pets my entire life and have never
felt the need to take them shopping with me. It doesn't matter what
the temperature is outside or how much the windows are down. Pets do
not belong in a vehicle when the owner goes shopping.

If I had seen your pet in the car with the windows up, or
insufficiently rolled down, I would have called the police and felt no
qualms whatsoever about smashing a window in order to protect the dog.
Since you weren't bothered with doing so.

Even on a mild day of 70 degrees, it can get dangerously hot within
minutes in a closed-up car, or with the windows barely cracked open.
Educate yourself before torturing your pet further.

What I really want to say would get me banned from this site for life.

Msybe next time instead of paging you, they should just call 911 and
let the police sort it out for you.

Unfortunately I do not need anything they sell and I have no working
wheelchairs whatsoever.

Otherwise I would print this letter, print a picture of my dogs, go to
Home Depot, spend money, and hand the cashier this letter and the
printouts to explain why I chose their chain.

Well, I'm remembering this, anyway, in case I ever need something Home
Depot sells.

The best tool to fight ignorance is education. If you do some
research on leaving windows "cracked" and the amount of time it takes
for the car to heat up, it will benefit your pet.

Before you advertise what you did further, you may want to crack the
books as well as the window. I can't imagine many pet owners agreeing
with the argument.

If you care more about being insulted than the possible health
effects on the pet, that's a bit sad. It sound like this was
well-intentioned.

Sorry, but I have to agree with the lady at Home Depot on this one. I
would have done the same thing. Just because it isn't that hot
outside, does not mean that it is not hot in the car.

"A study from Stanford University shows that even on comparatively
cool days, such as 72 degrees, a car's internal temperature will
rocket to 116 degrees within 60 minutes. And keeping the windows open
a crack hardly slows the rise at all."

From the same study-

"On 16 cloud-free days in Northern California, the team measured a
car's inside temperature at 5 minute intervals for one hour
post-parking. Ambient temperatures on the study days ranged from 22°C
to 35°C.

They found that, regardless of outside air temperature, the car heated
up at a similar rate - gaining 80% of its final temperature within 30
minutes. Cars that started out comfortable 22°C, for example, rocketed
to over 47°C after 60 minutes in the sun. And keeping the windows open
a crack hardly slowed the rise at all."

While I don't think that you meant to harm your dog in any way , I
think that the employee did the right thing by informing you that the
dog shouldn't have been left in the car for even 15 minutes. She could
have perhaps been nicer and less accusing, but if it were me I would
feel morally obligated to speak up for the animal. As the ASPCA says
"we are their voice". I know you said he was only in there for 15
minutes but as the study from Stanford indicates, 80% of the final
temp is reached within the first 30 mins even with the windows
cracked. I hope that you remember that next time you need to run into
a store.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this. The letter writer makes
some good points. I'm not sure Home Depot should be the pet police.
I actually think pet owners are more responsible than some people who
leave children in cars.

Society advises against leaving pets in vehicles. I don't know about
Canada, but in some parts of the US it is illegal.

I assume you are talking about 20 degrees celcius which is about 73
degrees farenheit? That is too hot to leave an animal alone in a car
for any period of time. Dogs cannot sweat and become overheated very
quickly.