NEVER Leave Your Dog Alone in a Vehicle!

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Postby SisMorphine » September 29th, 2008, 10:19 am

Jen, that is very sad for the owner. And yeah, dogs can get stolen out of cars. Hell, if someone wants your dog bad enough they'll break into your house and steal it. But I refuse to live in a world of paranoia where I can't leave my dog alone ANYWHERE.
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Postby Marinepits » September 29th, 2008, 10:26 am

I'm not saying to live in a world of paranoia.

Be aware that this can and will happen, and it's happening more and more every day.
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Postby nicole » September 29th, 2008, 10:27 am

This isn't something I'm personally willing to risk. Could be my location, as it is common for cars to get stolen around here regardless of the dog inside, so no thank you.

reminds me of this story...the dog was eventually found. The people who stole her let her loose, she was found along a highway in NJ...poor thing

http://www.nypost.com/seven/03042008/ne ... 100330.htm

oh, and this story from last year was a huge deal at the NYCACC b/c the dog was just let out of the car and the shelter wanted to neuter him. The people stole the car and dumped the dog.

http://www.cobankopegi.com/blog/2007/07 ... -wild.html

scary stuff!
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Postby mnp13 » September 29th, 2008, 11:03 am

Now that I finally seatbelt, I'm completely OCD about it. I didn't for many years, but if I thought about it I got anxious about it... so I ignored it. I had a dog nearly killed because she was in the front seat and was thrown into the dashboard as the airbag opened. Mia's dog was killed in a minor head on collision when it was thrown out of the truck.

I leave my dogs in the car all the time, though not in the city. I like to take them places with me, if only for the company while I'm driving.

It's all about assumption of risk. Letting them ride in the car loose is no longer an acceptable risk for me, leaving them in the car is.

I can't imagine the terror of finding one of my dogs gone when I returned to the car, but I also can't imagine never taking them with me places.
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Postby SassyCassie » September 29th, 2008, 11:09 am

Cassie isn't much company in the car. I've tried letting her be loose, or seatbelted near me. Each time was a total disaster b/c she was intent on chasing the cars driving by.
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Postby TheRedQueen » September 29th, 2008, 11:37 am

mnp13 wrote:I can't imagine the terror of finding one of my dogs gone when I returned to the car, but I also can't imagine never taking them with me places.


Agree!

We have two dogs ride loose in the van...though Xander rides in a crate if there is room. (we often have extra dogs with us) Sawyer rides loose because John can't get him in and out of the crates in the van...and he often picks stuff up for him while they're in the van. He can't retrieve shoes and phones if he's crated. ;) Xander also rides loose, as he often picks up stuff for John also...but he rides on the floor...and is relatively safe...(safer than riding on the seats).
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Postby airwalk » September 29th, 2008, 12:22 pm

In my humble opinion, there is a difference between having your dog with you and stopping at a local stop and rob running in and running out...then there is leaving your dog in your car, out of sight for several minutes or longer.

I have had to address many folks who have had their dogs stolen from their cars - it happens all the time and it is entirely preventable.

Sis if you are willing to take the risk, that is your choice, but I sincerely hope you will not be expecting your local ACO or law enforcement to place the loss high on their priority response list since you made a knowledgeable decision about leaving them in the car and what the risks were.

As for the idea that any dog will keep someone from the car...please...they may be a deterent to the "average" dumb crook, but a determined person will find a way to handle the situation - again, you are assuming a risk and liability that involves your dog. Your choice, but again, I would hope that should a loss occur that you will not anticipate that the local ACO and law enforcement will jump to respond.
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Postby SisMorphine » September 29th, 2008, 12:31 pm

Sis if you are willing to take the risk, that is your choice, but I sincerely hope you will not be expecting your local ACO or law enforcement to place the loss high on their priority response list since you made a knowledgeable decision about leaving them in the car and what the risks were.

So then should I also expect the police to not take a pocket book stolen out of a car as a priority if the person purposefully let it there?

Should I also expect the police to not take it as a priority if someone stole something from my house when I left a back door unlocked vs if I had locked everything?

Sorry, that shouldn't be a measuring stick. A crime is a crime whether it's my dog or my camera, whether the were left purposefully or not.

There is risk in EVERYTHING we do in life, whether it's with ourselves, our dogs, our property, etc. Just because we do something understanding the risk doesn't mean that it should be discounted if in fact it does occur.
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Postby airwalk » September 29th, 2008, 12:34 pm

You're right a crime is a crime...but nope I don't think a pocket book removed from a car when left in plain view raises to the same level as a purse snatching when someone is trying to prioritize limited resource responses.

If you choose to leave your house unlocked - then it certainly doesn't raise to the same level as a forceful entry.

I think people have to assume responsibility for personal decisions.

Those things do get responses and if someone is caught they should be prosecuted - but I think when citizens contribute to their own losses by refusing to take simple precautionary steps then they should not be overly surprised when other things end up a higher priority.
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Postby madremissy » September 29th, 2008, 12:35 pm

I am definitely not willing to take the risk. I have had my car stolen before, right out of my front yard. Nothing deterred them. It was locked. It took him tooks seconds to break the stearing column and then I came running out and then Travis came running out with his .357 pointed in his face. He tried to run Travis over with our own car. Finally Travis shot the tires out. My point is that when people are deteremined enough nothing will stop them from taking your dog or your car.
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Postby SisMorphine » September 29th, 2008, 12:39 pm

Oh thank you gods of PBT. I will now lock my dogs in a safety deposit box at the bank. There and only there will they be safe, and there and only there will the police or ACOs take it as a priority if stolen.

smurf this.
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Postby Marinepits » September 29th, 2008, 12:52 pm

SisMorphine wrote:Oh thank you gods of PBT. I will now lock my dogs in a safety deposit box at the bank. There and only there will they be safe, and there and only there will the police or ACOs take it as a priority if stolen.

smurf this.


:bs: Oh, get over yourself and go have a tantrum elsewhere.

If you are stupid enough to leave your purse on the seat of your car and it gets stolen, how the hell is that anyone's fault but yours?

If you are stupid enough to leave your house unlocked and someone "breaks in" and steals all your crap, how the hell is that anyone's fault but yours?

A tiny bit of common sense goes a LOOOOOOOOOONG way. And so does personal responsibility. You're damn right that solving a totally preventable crime is NOT high on my list of priorities. I have people out there that actually need help to solve problems that aren't of their own making.
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Postby BritneyP » September 29th, 2008, 1:12 pm

SisMorphine wrote:Britney you ready to leave your dogs in the car and out of sight at training tonight?


Absolutely! :mrgreen:

Perhaps it's more common for those of us that are actively involved in some level of training or dog sports to leave our dogs in the car unattended for periods of time. I guess that's just a risk I'm willing to take in order to have fun with my dog. :wink:
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Postby airwalk » September 29th, 2008, 1:17 pm

SisMorphine wrote:Oh thank you gods of PBT. I will now lock my dogs in a safety deposit box at the bank. There and only there will they be safe, and there and only there will the police or ACOs take it as a priority if stolen.

smurf this.


OOOkkkkaaaayyyy, I'm not entirely sure why that was warranted.
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Postby airwalk » September 29th, 2008, 1:20 pm

Perhaps it's more common for those of us that are actively involved in some level of training or dog sports to leave our dogs in the car unattended for periods of time


This is probably me being a bit pissy...but "some level of training or dog sports"....gee I thought having a dog work with me every day and at every event was some level of training...wow can't believe I misunderstood that far... and no I don't take that risk and yes..I am actively involved in some level of training for my dogs.
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Postby pitbullmamaliz » September 29th, 2008, 1:30 pm

Okay, everybody step away from your computers and take a deep breath.
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Postby mnp13 » September 29th, 2008, 2:28 pm

SisMorphine wrote:So then should I also expect the police to not take a pocket book stolen out of a car as a priority if the person purposefully let it there?

Should I also expect the police to not take it as a priority if someone stole something from my house when I left a back door unlocked vs if I had locked everything?

Yes, that's exactly what you can expect. My aunt's home was burglerized earlier this month. Her front door was kicked in, her alarm was triggered and teh police were there with search dogs in her house when she got home. Had her front door been unlocked and the alarm not set, they would still have taken a report, but I doubt that it would have been treated with the same priority. As it was, she had a hard time getting information from them.

SisMorphine wrote:Sorry, that shouldn't be a measuring stick. A crime is a crime whether it's my dog or my camera, whether the were left purposefully or not.

Maybe it shouldn't be, but it is. Just like getting bitten during bite work sucks, but it's part of doing bite work training. You can't then expect to sue the owner of the dog because you chose to do something that put yourself at risk.

airwalk wrote:Those things do get responses and if someone is caught they should be prosecuted - but I think when citizens contribute to their own losses by refusing to take simple precautionary steps then they should not be overly surprised when other things end up a higher priority.

I agree

madremissy wrote:I am definitely not willing to take the risk. I have had my car stolen before, right out of my front yard. Nothing deterred them. It was locked. It took him tooks seconds to break the stearing column and then I came running out and then Travis came running out with his .357 pointed in his face. He tried to run Travis over with our own car. Finally Travis shot the tires out. My point is that when people are deteremined enough nothing will stop them from taking your dog or your car.

:o And why didn't Travis just shoot him?

SisMorphine wrote:Oh thank you gods of PBT. I will now lock my dogs in a safety deposit box at the bank. There and only there will they be safe, and there and only there will the police or ACOs take it as a priority if stolen.

Wow, not necessary.

BritneyP wrote:Perhaps it's more common for those of us that are actively involved in some level of training or dog sports to leave our dogs in the car unattended for periods of time. I guess that's just a risk I'm willing to take in order to have fun with my dog.

There are plenty of people who have fun with their dogs who don't leave them unattended in cars. I think that those of us who show or compete are just used to it. At some shows you are not allowed to have your dog with you unless you are competing or on the way to the ring. I've competed at trials where it is wall to wall people, with idiots mixed in with their dogs wandering at the end of the leash. My dogs are FAR safer in the car than in that situation. It's a necessary evil when I'm getting ready to go in the ring, the rest of the time... not so much.

I'm used to it, so it doesn't bother me, but I am not going to deny that there is a hefty amount of risk involved.

Another point to ponder - Connor broke my windshield two years ago when he slammed his head into it. He didn't even blink, let alone pause... he just kept on defending the car (it was a civil agitation exercise.) A few years ago when Demo was at a stop light a passer by decided to jump at the car to "see what would happen." Connor backed up, put his head down and slammed it into the window. He was trying to break out of the car. He didn't hit his face, he used the top of his head.

Leaving a dog loose in a car has a level of risk. Leaving a dog that is of the size and training to make it through a window is much higher risk. You can accept the risk, but you can't deny that it's there.
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Postby mnp13 » September 29th, 2008, 2:42 pm

btw

This has not been specifically stated in this thread, but intentionally or not, I think it has been implied.

I find the difference between "working dog owners" and "pet people" to be negligible at best, and insulting at worst. My skull cracks in two when people start the "Pet Bull" vs "Pit Bull" crap.

The way you treat your dog, the activities you do with your dog and your chosen level of risk when handling that dog have NOTHING to do with whether you dog is "just a pet" or a "working" dog.
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Postby amazincc » September 29th, 2008, 2:46 pm

You guys... please! :shock:

Treasure your dogs, your kids, your family, friends... keep them safe and protected, love them. Take CARE of them the best way you can, whatever that may mean for each of you. :( :hug3:
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Postby madremissy » September 29th, 2008, 2:48 pm

And why didn't Travis just shoot him?


At that time the law had not been changed that if someone was in your yard. yadda, yadda, ...... I don't know the exact thing. But now you no longer have to drag them in your house, if you feel threatened you can shoot if they are on your property. Also, it was a young kid. I don't think that Travis (at first) thought a car was worth a human life. Now after, he starting chasing him all over the yard with the car, Travis had enough and starting shooting. He made it to the end of the property line and jumped out and ran. That's when Travis got the shotgun and went after him. I was on the phone with the police with all this shooting going on and telling them to come on. The bad thing was they didn't know he had escaped their jail until the next morning. :rolleyes2:

Now that being said, if my child or my dog was in the car, the guy would have been wounded seriously :wink:
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