Daily BrewPublic outraged with children, pets, found abandoned in hot cars
The death toll is already at two. That is how many children have already died in Canada this year after being found alone in hot cars.
Add to that the stories of kids being discovered and rescued from parking lots, dogs and other pets being found and reported. It is nearing a Canadian catastrophe, and the public is starting to rise up.
As the number of children and animals being found abandoned in overheated vehicles continues to rise, public outrage is increasingly becoming the common reaction.
Take a recent incident in Oakville, Ont., just outside of Toronto, where a nine-month-old girl was found, crying and sweating profusely, alone in a Home Depot parking lot.
[ Related: Keep pets out of parked cars in hot weather, SPCA warns ]
Halton Regional Police reported on Monday that a concerned citizen flagged the store, which issued an emergency announcement over the store's intercom.
When the father returned to the vehicle he was met by an angry mob who berated him. Police and the Children's Aid Society are investigating the father in the incident.
Last week it was reported an Ontario Wal-Mart employee was fired after she accosted a customer for leaving his dog trapping in a car as he shopped.
In Victoria, B.C., a couple allegedly took their outrage one step further.
Victoria police report that a couple appears to have stolen a puppy from a hot car its dog-sitter had left it in.
Police were contacted by a woman who was caring for the dog, who said she had left the dog in the car as she ate at a restaurant. She reports that a couple eating at the same restaurant saw the car, broke in and "rescued" the puppy.
According to a press statement:
As the investigation unfolded, a staff member from the restaurant overheard officers and stated that she had seen the dog with the two suspects at Uptown Mall. This witness said she also overheard the suspects declaring they were going to name the dog after the restaurant where he was ‘rescued’.
Police are still considering charges against the couple, as well as the dog-sitter who left the puppy alone.
[ More Brew: Grandmother charged after toddler found dead in hot car ]
Pets and children may not be cut from the same cloth, but in this instance they do suffer the same sorrow. Defenseless, unable to escape, trapped and suffering. Neither will fare well when left alone.
Thankfully, while some people still struggle with rational thought, the rest of us appear to have honed in on the need to respond. Theft is a bit much, but so is walking past and leaving them to suffer. Bless those who reacted quickly and stirred the Oakville father from his slumber. Bless those who, as police urge, contacted authorities in all the cases that have gone unnoticed.
Wal-Mart says it will post signs warning people not to leave children and pets in cars as they shop. And this Winnipeg Rona is allowing pet owners to break with policy and bring their animals into the store to avoid such problems.
We are reacting properly to the issue of kids and pets being abandoned in hot cars. Hopefully the parents of those children and the owners of those pets will join us as well.
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