These morons should have been held to account

Somewhere along the way it seems Australian pet owners forgot that having a four-legged friend isn’t just a right, but also comes with plenty of responsibility, writes Kylie Lang.

It is not only extreme animal abusers who should be banned from owning pets.

It is also imbeciles like the ones who left two dogs locked in a car on a blistering hot day while they went shopping in airconditioned comfort.

The pups were distressed and, with only one window a couple of centimetres down, practically roasting to death.

A friend spotted the poor things and was about to photograph and report the situation when three adults returned to the vehicle, blubbering something about only being gone for five minutes.

Lucky for all concerned it was not six minutes, because the dogs would have been dead and these fools potentially prosecuted and looking at a $220 fine or prison time.

Each year, the RSPCA receives more than 1000 calls about pets being left in cars.

This is just not on.

Not only should common sense kick in, if it is too hot for you, it sure as hell is going to be too hot for a smaller animal, but these are helpless, trusting creatures.

If they don’t happen to die within minutes, they could have brain damage.

But why let that get in the way of a shopping trip, one that required all adults to vacate the car, rather than one electing to stay behind and take the dogs to find some shade?

The RSCPA has an online campaign called “Just Six Minutes”, which shows a man leaving a (toy) dog in a hot car and asks viewers to swear an oath: “I pledge never to leave my dog unattended in a car.”

Each year, the RSPCA receives more than 1000 calls about pets being left in cars. Picture: supplied

That’s great, but, like the White Ribbon Day pledge to “stand up, speak out and act to prevent men’s violence against women”, it is going to take much more to make a tangible difference.

Owning a pet is a responsibility, not a right.

With that responsibility comes things you must do.

For dogs, they include regular exercise, heartworm and tick treatments, providing ample water and shelter from harsh weather.

You also have an obligation to your neighbours to prevent endless barking.

Cats need care and attention too, including keeping them inside at night to protect wildlife, and both should be well fed, but not overfed.

Queenslanders, specifically those on the Sunshine Coast, are the worst in the country for keeping tabs on their moggy’s weight.

According to a Courier-Mail report, almost one-quarter has no clue their feline is fat, and less than a third bother to weigh them to find out.

Dog owners cannot be much better because, in August, a Cairns company that developed a weight control program for pooches received major funding from the State Government’s Ignite Ideas program.

Here’s an idea, how about pet owners step up and do the right thing?

The public is sickened by blatant acts of animal cruelty, including puppy farms that feed dog-fighting rings, but we should also be disturbed by the general lack of care by people who are too busy, lazy or inhumane to bother.

Police found this seven-week-old puppy locked inside an unattended car on a day that temperatures had soared into its 40s. Picture: supplied

Last week, Logan woman Sharon Damrow was banned for life from owning pets and her husband Randyal Damrow banned for 10 years, after pleading guilty to 15 charges of failing to treat and feed their animals.

As for leaving dogs in cars, in Queensland it is not a specific offence, but it should be. While it is illegal to leave windows down in an unattended vehicle, that is of zero help to an animal trapped inside.

In stating the bleeding obvious, the RSPCA says “vehicles are made of metal and glass — both heat up quickly and retain heat. Generally speaking, vehicles with larger glass surface areas (eg hatchbacks) heat up faster and to higher temperatures than similar-sized sedans”.

Tray-back utes can also get extremely hot and dogs should be sheltered under a canopy.

It says the only existing course for dealing with people who abandon their pets is under the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001 in which it is an offence to leave an animal without appropriate water and shelter, as in the case of the Damrows.

So let’s act on it and demand tougher penalties for all who mistreat animals.

My friend was right to want to photograph and report the dogs trapped in a car at DFO at Brisbane Airport on a sweltering afternoon.

I only wish she had gone ahead with it and these morons were held to account.

Kylie Lang is associate editor at The Courier-Mail.

@kylie_lang

Report animal cruelty by calling 1300 ANIMAL (264 625) or lodge a complaint at www.rspca.org.au.