Ottawa police removed a puppy from a hot car parked in the ByWard Market on Monday.
The owner parked his car on George Street around 11:15 a.m. and when he did not return more than 20 minutes later, a concerned citizen sought out police.
“I don’t know how long he’s going to be,” said Travis Wildeman, the security guard at CTV Ottawa who watched the events unfold and alerted police.
Wildeman watched the man roll down his windows, open his sun roof and give the dog named Kismet fresh water before leaving the vehicle. At that time, the temperature outside was hitting 30 degrees Celsius.
“How long is the dog going to be in there? He could run out of water,” Wildeman said.
Police removed Kismet from the vehicle, before handing him off to by-law services.
“If it’s 40 degrees outside, it can double that and be even more inside the vehicle,” said Cst. Katia Guay with the Ottawa Police Service.
When the dog was removed, the inside of the car was reading approximately 42 degrees Celsius or 107 degrees Fahrenheit according to our measurements. Police did not provide a reading.
The dog’s owner returned to his vehicle more than an hour later, shocked to find his dog had been taken by by-law.
“I can assure you that I’m not an animal abuser,” said Derick Pennell, the dog’s owner.
“I thought of every precaution I could think of before leaving my dog in the vehicle.
Pennell said he doesn’t believe he did anything wrong. He said he took necessary precautions, including lowering the windows, opening the sunroof and placing a bowl of water in the backseat for Kismet.
“I was under the assumption that everything I did, that the way I left my vehicle, the way I left my dog was okay for an hour’s length of time,” he said.
In this kind of weather, with temperatures hitting 36 degrees with the humidex, it only takes five or 10 minutes for someone to get hurt. That’s why experts say people and pets should never be left unattended in cars on hot days.
“Any vehicle will warm up extremely quickly, even if you have the windows open a crack or open fully,” said Jean-Pierre Trottier with the Ottawa Paramedic Service.
“It just captures that heat and keeps it in. It’s basically a mobile sauna right now.”
The dog was unharmed and did not appear to be in distress when he was removed from the vehicle. Kismet was taken away by by-law, but has since been returned to his owner.
“I do believe that if he was in there for an extended period of time that it would be detrimental to my dog’s health,” said Pennell.
“That’s my best friend. I love him and that’s my everything. I wouldn’t leave him in a dangerous situation.”
The Ottawa Humane Society is aware of this case and has opened an investigation. No charges have been laid.
Two other pets were seized from hot cars today. One in Petrie Island and the other on Conventry Rd.
