Hot under the collar

Dear Dr. Forsythe: I saw a little dog in car last Saturday who was barking and going out of its mind.  The windows were only down about an inch and the sun was baking the car.  I waited for several minutes and watched the little white dog get more and more frantic.  When nobody came back to the car and it didn’t seem like anybody was coming anytime soon, I opened the door to the driver’s side and the little dog jumped into my arms like I was saving its life.  It felt warm, very warm, it was panting and I could feel its heartbeat going as fast as a hummingbird.  I would have simply rolled down the windows much more and left a note for the driver, but with no key, it was impossible to do this.  Instead, I stood beside the car and just held the little white dog in my arms until the owner came back about 15 minutes later.

As she approached the car, the little old woman looked at the car and at me and then at the car again, when she realized I was holding her dog, she became irate and accused me of stealing her dog. I tried to explain about the dangers of overheating but she grabbed her dog and flung her inside the car and used a string of expletives on me and left.  I do have a description of the woman and the car license number.  Is this something that should be reported?  I am fairly confident the dog would have been dead had I not stepped in.  I didn’t need to be thanked by her, but I never expected in a million years to be attacked.  What would you suggest I do?

Shocked in Sonoma

Dear Shocked:

Wow, that sounded like one horrible situation you found yourself in. It’s one of the worst things EVER to see a pet inside a car on a warm day. Even with the windows slightly rolled down, cars heat up like a convection oven in just a few moments and dogs die very quickly.  From the description of the weather and how long you were with the little dog, I believe that you most certainly saved this dogs life.

It is so unfortunate that this grumpy old granny chose to grab the pet and curse you out rather than face what she did and thank you for your kind and altruistic actions.  As for turning Miss Gertie Growler into the police, I’m not sure what they would do — probably have a chuckle and tell you that you need to take up a hobby.  I suggest you call animal control and seek their advice.  Most importantly, please know that you saved a pets life because you care about animals and took action.  I applaud you for your kindness and grace.  I feel very badly for the old woman with the mouth like a sailor (perhaps there is some mental illness going on there).  One never knows.  Isn’t if funny how many times lovely and wonderful little pets can fall into the hands of people who just don’t seem to deserve them?

Thanks for writing.

Dr. F