When it comes to irresponsible people who leave dogs in parked cars with the windows cracked open on warm days, I can be quite the scold. I never hesitate to call the police if the motorist in question is nowhere to be found, and although I'm not one for confrontation, I have been known to berate a driver who was about to abandon his dog in a car that would soon double as an oven.
So I was on alert the other day when I pulled into the parking lot near our local riverside trail and got ready to start my two-mile walk. It was 68 degrees out and sunny. Nearby, a fellow Prius owner got out of his car and began stretching, presumably in preparation for a run. A golden retriever sat in the car, which had all of its windows closed.
As I stared at the other driver, he glanced my way and gave me a pleasant nod. Part of me demanded that I say something about the risk of leaving a dog in a closed car on such a warm day, but my gut told me this guy was not about to do that. He was young, clean-cut, intelligent-looking and driving a Prius, for crying out loud! We Prius owners like to think we belong to an unofficial club whose members are thoughtful, sensible people with a well-calibrated moral compass. So I set out on my walk.
Within minutes, I was kicking myself for having failed to mention the heat to that other driver. What if I got back from my walk and the dog was still in the car, dangerously overheated or worse? Just as I was about to turn around and head back, I heard the jingle of a collar behind me. That's when the other guy and his jogging companion, the golden retriever, ran past.
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