"Please, don't leave me here!"
The heatwave that has left much of the country sizzling has thrown up a few challenges to grey nomads … particularly for those travelling with pets.
As well as keeping themselves cool, and making sure they stay out of bushfire danger spots, pet-loving grey nomads also have to keep ‘Rover’ comfortable … and try not to fall foul of the law!
People found guilty of leaving a dog in a dangerously hot vehicle could face up to two years imprisonment, $71,000 in fines and be banned from owning/being in charge of an animal for up to 10 years
Experts agree that on 40 degree days, temperatures inside vehicles can peak above 60 degrees … and leaving a pet in a vehicle even for a short time can be disastrous. Animals can suffer horrific injuries including extreme stress, organ failure and seizures.
A new RSPCA report titled `Dogs Die In Hot Cars’ says nearly 500 complaints about animals in vehicles were received over the past five years.
“Just six minutes is all it takes for animals to succumb to a pretty tragic and stressful death,” said the RSPCA’s Steve Coleman.
And leaving a car or motorhome parked in the shade with the windows wound down is not always a good enough solution … .and it can even get drivers in even more trouble.
A Brisbane man was recently slapped with a $44 fine for leaving his car window wound down more than the stipulated distance.
Under Queensland law, vehicles must be ‘secured’ with the engine off, hand brake applied, ignition key removed and windows up with a gap no more than 5cm.
“The law was put in place for a simple reason,” said Queensland Police Commissioner, Ian Stewart. “it is to stop people breaking into cars stealing things and from stealing the car.”
The decision to fine the man triggered a storm of complaints, but it is not the only ‘controversial’ law on the books.
For example, the Courier-Mail newspaper reports that a ticket can be issued if a motorist lets a dog enjoy a breeze out the window of a moving vehicle.
While Queenslanders are free to drive in bare feet or thongs, they face a fine up to $2200 if they let a dog – or their own arm – hang out of the window.
“Regardless of whether people think it’s a big deal or not, road rules, even the more obscure ones, were created to help keep all road users safe.” said Joel Tucker, senior road safety adviser at the RACQ.
Have you ever fallen foul of some lesser known road rules? How do you keep your pet cool on the road? Is it wrong for dogs to have their heads out of the window? What do you think of the ‘5cm window wind’ law? Comment below
I’m an animal lover although I don’t have a pet. BUT if you can be fined jailed and banned from keeping a pet for ten years what about all those A******s’s who do it with their own children. Sterilisation perhaps.
Got a Question..
I plan on Taking m Dog with me..
– The issue for me is, that once my system is full completed.. I’m going to have a domestic Split System in my system.. If it Get to the stage that I need to Leave my Little girl in the Motor-Home.. Am I going to be in trouble if I have the Air-con running While I do what I need to Do..?
[I’m not going to go into how I will be able to run the Air-Con..{NO Generator}Very Good LiFePO4 system]
So Will I get into Trouble If I leave her in a Cool Environment than Outside..???
But Generally Yes.. I would be one of the people that generally break a Window to Keep a Pet Safe..
J
We travel with a small dog and two birds. If its hot we have the air con on for them in the rig or truck while we travel. We never go site seeing or shopping if its hot to save having to leave animals in the heat. If its cooler we take our dog in the truck with us and leave the windows down while we site see. Stick your hand in at own risk so quite safe. Its not hard to sacrifice a little bit of what you want to look after them.
Leave my husky in motor home with invertor fan & battery fan on no problem,just to go shopping etc, winibago windows would I think be hard to get into being louvre windows ,of course cab is locked & cab windows wound up however cops in Warwick issued me with a caution about the side louvre windows being left open.
what a joke. after all late model vehicles that have a chip in the key to prevent car thieft have caused more crimes then car thieft along seening home invasions increase to pinch the vehicles keys before the vehicles stolen and car jackings have increased as well. iam the first one to admit I iam guilty of leaving my k9 in the vehicle asnd suppose I could be fined.. what I do is leave my Isuzu truck running with the air conditioner on. vehicle looked and take the spare key, technically I could be fined however, nobody could get in to my vehicle whith out me.. like to see anyone try.. I have the best truck alarm evermade in Australia.. and its called a BIG BLUE CATTLE DOG, that’s my k9. What else is one to do??? with the rate of k9s being stolen either for dog fighting or being used as a bait dog. from Townsville right down the south east and the southburnett areas, every policeman ive spoke to in the street has confirmed that dog theft is a majour problem and have all told me,DO NOT LEAVE YOUR K9S unattended not even for a short period outside a shop, so I figure were dammed if we do and we dammed if we don’t!!! All in all I don’t care how many times I get find the safety of my k9 comes before any infringement or fine ever will.
My wife and friend, just today got threatened with a fine from the Townsville police for leaving our German Shepherd in the car while they went into a shop. The windows were right down, he had plenty of water.he was in full view of them all the time. Definately not stressed out..Once they finished what they were doing it was off to a park for lunch and a run. I agree that it should be illegal to leave a dog in a car UNATENDED. Our dog was not left alone without supervision. He was out the front of the shop in full view. He was watching them. They were watching him. So before they start threatening people with fines especially in QLD where it is NOT illegal).They need to look at the individual case. Its not hard to tell if a dog is unhappy, its even easier to tell if he is stressed out. Our boy is the most loved dog around. My wife had doctors appointment in Townsville on this particular day so after a 4 hour drive, a play in the park, a run on the beach. it was off to a pet friendly motel so every one could be together and happy. OR he could have been left at home on his own. Then you might have seen an unhappy dog. I work in the N.T. Here in the Tiwi islands most of the dogs are treated like s**t. covered in ticks.under nourished,covered in battle scars from abuse.Where is the law or R.S.P.C.A. Don’t get me wrong. they do a fantastic job. But something more needs to be done up here. They could start by sterilising a few dogs.Issue a lot more fines. Enforce those fines. Enforce the number of dogs per house. I’m a dog lover. but up here its heart and gut wrenching at the constant yelping from another pup or dog being abused.Not all dogs.Some of them are very well looked after. Unfortunately that is the minority. The limit of dogs per house, i think is 2. However it needs to be enforced. I,ve been told that as soon as the vet or any sought of animal welfare officer is due in the communities, the info is leaked out, so they take their dogs out bush till they have left the islands.