If you look very closely at the bottom center of the driver’s window, you will see a face (eyes and nose) of a small dog. The Puggle was left in this car while his/her parent shopped at a local grocery store.
As I was preparing to leave my parking space, I glanced over and watched this cutie stare at me and the store. Just like most dogs, they anxiously await the return of their “mom or dad.”
My first reaction was the temperature of the interior of that car. Cars heat up quickly despite an outside temperature hovering around a a balmy 70 degrees. Luckily, the dog didn’t appear distressed or hot. He wasn’t panting or showing signs of being hot.
The second thought that ran through my mind were the windows on the car. As you can see by photo, the window on the driver’s side allows enough room for a person to stick an arm through it and possibly unlatch the door (if it was locked at all).
The window on the passenger’s door was definitely lower and anyone could’ve easily unlocked and open the door or reach in and grab the dog.
Each day, 5400 dogs are stolen in the United States. Nearly two million dogs are stolen every year and sold to research facilites, dog fighting facilites used as bait or a fighter, puppy mills, and pet stores. Some dogs have been held for ransom but that isn’t the norm.
Pet theft is a multi-million dollar business. This puggle was quiet and reserved. Never barked. It would’ve been so easy to grab hiim and run. The chances of finding your stolen dog are slim.
I don’t believe this person meant any harm to the dog. There were stickers plastered on the back of the car supporting his love for his/her Puggle and other animals. But, we, as pet parents, have to be diligent and cautious to protect our best friends from others doing harm to them.
* Don’t leave your pet in a car if you are shopping, whether it’s grocery or retail shopping.
* Supervise your pet while he’s outside. This happened to a woman I know. Her chihuahua was stolen from her front porch and was never found.
* When you’re expecting service people at your house, keep your pet confined to another room.
* Have ID on your pet at all times.
* Don’t tie your dog to a post or sign while you run into a restaurant or store. I saw this a few weeks ago as this beautiful, well-mannered dog was tethered to a street sign as his “mom” was eating inside a restaurant. She entrusted her dog to her son who left the scene. He then asked a friend of his to watch his mom’s dog. I remained there until I knew the dog was safe. The “mom” came out and didn’t seem upset that her dog was now surrounded by strangers. DON’T DO THIS! She’s lucky all of us were good people.
I waited for the Puggle’s parent to come out to make sure he/she was safe.
What would you have done in a similar case?
Amy says
Never, never, ever leave your pet in a parked car! Cars overheat so quickly and it can kill your dog! Someone could’ve easily stolen the puggle. I would’ve enlightened the “parent” of this puggle when he came out of the store!
Louie says
Hell to the NO!
Amy says
I hate seeing something like this .
Sharon says
When I see a dog tied to a sign while his owner is in a city store, I want to scream at the person. Anyone can steal the dog. Don’t they care??? How dumb are people? It breaks my heart to know someone will steal their dog if they stay in the store for too long. Sometimes, it takes but a few minutes. I would never tie my dog up outside anywhere to go into a store or leave my dog inside my car if I went shopping for food or otherwise. I wish people would think before they act!
Sharon says
Puggles are a very popular breed of dog. The owner is lucky that no one took him!
Elfriede Chandronnait says
Informative post. Thanks for giving us such a useful information.