Animal Control lets dog roast

"Hindsight is 100 percent," says Sacramento's director of Animal Care and Regulation.

mr_ed:  So even though she got the cliche wrong, even though she's trying to put blame on those who ask whether the officers screwed up, even though people with enough brains to drive can add together "the dog's been in the car at least a day" with "it's gonna be in the 90s today" and come up with "we should take the dog out of the car" ... despite all that, don't be critical.

5:30 p.m. July 1:  Acting on a complaint (or "tip," as the Sacramento Bee reporter calls it), animal control (AC) officer sees dog locked in car in vacant parking lot. "[N]ot in immediate danger," decides officer. Leaves warning under windshield wiper.

10:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. July 2:  Dog "not distressed," "windows were cracked [left open a crack?] and a shade cover sheltered the front window."

3:46 p.m. July 2  93°

4:30 p.m. July 2  Dog dead. AC officer removes dog, leaves notice.

July 17?  Owner, in jail, hears of dog's death.

"People shouldn't leave them in a car and we need to pull them," said a county veterinarian. But another vet said, "I would be hard-pressed to make that judgment call looking through the window of a car."

No, really. She said that. Four years of college, four years of vet school, and she couldn't tell you that if it's 93° outside a car, it's too hot for a dog inside the car. Because you have to factor in temperature, humidity and an animal's weight, coat, breed and pre-existing conditions - according to her, according to the Sacramento Bee.

By the way, in California it's illegal to leave a pet in a car if it's dangerous for their health or well-being, and the law gives cops and AC officers "the authority to remove an animal from a vehicle 'if the animal's safety appears to be in immediate danger' and after 'a reasonable effort' to locate the driver." According to the Bee.

The director of Animal Care and Regulation doesn't explain what reasonable efforts they took to locate the driver, but she stands by their actions.

"She said animals won't always show visible signs of distress -- heavy panting or weakness -- from a heat illness, and that it's easy to second-guess the officers" (says the Bee).

Especially when they're so obviously wrong, huh lady?

thanks to itchmo.com