West Shore RCMP says a "hot dog" case involving a woman who went to see a movie leaving her dog in the back of her truck isn't as bad as initially reported.
In a release they say the dog was found with water, the vehicle was parked in the shade, all the windows were down, and the wind provided a cool breeze. Although they say fur babies can always stay home if it’s a hot day -- in this case "the owner did everything right".
But Penny Stone of the Victoria Humane Society couldn't disagree more:
"With all due respect to the RCMP I don't think the owner did everything right. The right thing would have been to leave the dog at home. There's no excuse to take animals out in this heat and leave them for hours."
Stone says harsh punishments need to be enforced in "hot dog" cases before some owners will take notice:
" Our opinion is these people should absolutely have their dog taken away from them. People like this shoiuldn't have an animal. It's ludicrous to leave your animal in the car in this kind of heat and hope, and think that's it's okay. It's not okay."
There was an extreme heat warning Tuesday -- and Stone says the dog would also be at risk of theft, perhaps biting someone who reached in, and other issues when left alone for so long.