With summer around the corner and the weather heating up, Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies wanted to remind the community about the dangers of leaving your pet in the car.
Deputies received four calls of dogs trapped in hot cars Sunday, as the temperature pushed into the 90s throughout the Santa Clarita Valley.
“There are typically multiple calls on any hot day,” said Deputy Wood of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. “It’s typically when you have multiple cold days then you have a hot day. On the weekends, we tend to get a lot (of these calls).”
“We’ll have at least four to five calls per day during the summer,” Wood said.
Deputies assess each call individually, he said.
Occasionally, deputies will have to rescue a pet, he said. “We’ve certainly done that before.”
If a pet owner can’t be reached, then the Department of Animal Care and Control will be contacted in order to free a distressed animal, if that’s what the situation calls for, Wood said.
Wood said he loved animals, and didn’t understand why someone would want to bring their pet around only to leave it in the car.
“We don’t recommend dogs in cars in any circumstance,” he said. “Your dog is much happier at home in the shade.”
If someone does see a dog trapped in the car, they should report it to the Sheriff’s Station and then move on, he said.
“If you want to be a good witness, be a good witness,” Wood said. “But don’t get involved in the problem.”
If a citizen who reports a trapped dog stays near the car, it can often create unnecessary conflict with the pet owner, he said.
Anyone reporting a trapped pet should stay away from the vehicle they’re reporting, he said.
Citizens definitely should not take matters into their own hands, he said.
“The problem is, it causes people and animal lovers to act a little bit irrational and, God love ‘em because I’m an animal lover myself, but they can make the situation worse,” he said. ”We dont recommend dogs in cars in any circumstance.”
