Dogs in cars :(

So I went and (finally) did the grocery shopping today, and when I went back to my car after being in the store for about an hour, I noticed a dog in the car across from mine, panting. It was a pretty dog, short haired, kind of grey-brown, with blue eyes and medum sized. Kind of like a Weimeraner only smaller and more brindled.
I checked to see if the windows were open in that car, and there was one window open, about 2". Today was clear and sunny here at about 22 degrees outside. It was noon so the sun was hot and direct in the parking lot. I put my groceries in my car and felt immediately how hot and stifling my car was - my window had been open about the same amount. That poor dog!

I went directly back into the WalMart and gave the license plate number to the customer service staff, who put out a page on the speaker system for the owner of the car to come to customer service. I didn't stay long enough to see if they came - I went back out to the parking lot and saw the dog still in there, so I headed home and called the Ontario SPCA who told me to call our local police as they didn't have an inspector in the area. I reported it to the police who said they would send a car out.

It is SO NOT COOL to leave a dog in the car on a day like today. I can see maybe if you are just running in for 5 minutes but if so then why not open all the windows up? And park in the shade for goodness sake! Why on earth would someone take their dog to the grocery store anyway? You wouldn't leave a baby in there, leaving a dog is just as bad. It made me so mad and upset. I'm not the kind of person who normally calls the cops on someone - I have done it once before when I lived in an apartment and the couple below were having a violent argument at 3am and I could hear him hitting her - but I really felt like that dog was in danger of dying.

Now I am just hoping that poor dog was okay. And giving our dog lots of pats to try to make up in a very, very small way for the people who don't treat their dogs right.

From the SPCA website:

• NEVER leave a pet alone in a vehicle, even in the shade. Pets left in cars, or other unventilated areas, or tied in the sun, are susceptible to heat stroke. Since dogs have only a limited ability to sweat, even a short time in a hot environment can be life-threatening. Temperatures inside a parked car can rapidly reach dangerous levels even on relatively mild days, and even if the windows are slightly open. A dog's normal body temperature is 39°C and a temperature of 41°C can be withstood only for a very short time before irreparable brain damage or death can occur.