Editor:

Had an experience today I would like to share with your readers.

On Monday afternoon, at approximately 5:30 p.m., it was 80+ degrees in Discovery Bay. I was walking my dog at the time – it was hot and windy. While doing a circuit around the marina, I could hear dogs barking from a car. Upon closer inspection, I discovered two enormous German shepherds in crates no bigger than the dogs in the back of an SUV. The windows were open about four inches and the hatch was open. The dogs had no water in their cages and were barking furiously.

After checking around to find the owners, I walked back out to find the owner and his companion standing by the car. I exclaimed, “oh, there you are – I imagine you have not left them in their long” to which he replied, “Oh, only a few hours; they are fine.”

I mentioned the fact that it was hot and they had no water – and that he should not be a dog owner if he thought that it was OK to leave dogs in a car on a hot day like that. He stared at me open-mouthed, shook his head and said, “You are out of it.”

I replied, “I believe the general consensus would be that you are out of it – and I am trying to be nice and not use foul language.”

I walked away leaving them dumbstruck, wanting to bite their collective heads off. I was so shaken I was almost in tears.

Needless to say, do people constantly have to be reminded that leaving pets (or kids, for that matter) in a car on even a warm day can be deadly? How many articles do we have to read in the news about a pet or a child dying due to pet owner or parent negligence?

The days are getting longer and hotter. Please, folks, leave your pets at home when you can. This could have ended up a disaster.

Teri Sandholdt

Discovery Bay