Dartmouth Animal Control Warns Against Leaving Pets in Hot Cars

If you leave your dog in the car on hot days, you're more than a little bit on my 'I strongly, strongly dislike you" list. Regardless of how dangerous it is to leave your dog or puppy in your car, we see so many instances of it here on the Southcoast when the weather warms up. Dartmouth Animal Control warns that it can make dogs very anxious and even cause death or other health complications. Imagine being stuck in a sweltering box with no way to get out.

To try to stop the instances of people leaving dogs in hot cars, Dartmouth Animal Control shared a Facebook post with a guideline of what's acceptable for your pets and cars this summer.

Take it from someone who has three dogs that would love to go everywhere with me - leave your dog at home if you think you're going to be making a stop at a store! No matter how quick you think you'll be, they'd be much happier at home in the AC or by the fan. If you do take them with you and leave them in your car, you'll get a hefty fine and potential charges of animal negligence. Even with the AC on, it's illegal. According to Massachusetts General Law (MGL), Chapter 90, Section 16A, 310 Code of Massachusetts Regulation (CMR), Section 7.11 and MGL, Chapter 111, Sections 142A – 142M, it's not okay and you can be fined from $100 to $25,000.

Now a lot of you are probably wondering: What if you see an animal who needs to get out of a hot car? According to a comment from the Dartmouth Animal Control Facebook page, you are permitted to break the window if you've already called authorities and the animal appears it is in need of medical attention.

Additional Reporting by Michael DeSouza

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