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A/C for my dog while parked

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by RhythmDoctor, Jul 18, 2008.

  1. RhythmDoctor

    RhythmDoctor Member

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    It is so easy to say "never" when you're not the one who has to live with the consequences. But on a 6 hour trip you have to plan for the unexpected. Something may happen that requires me to leave the dog for a few minutes.

    For instance, my dog will be in a harness, so I could actually go to a drive-through and get cheap carry-out. But I also know what that kind of food does to my stomach, and they don't make carry-out toilets. So what if I have to leave the dog for a couple minutes?

    It really annoys me to hear "never do this" and "never do that." Sometimes situations require balancing numerous suboptimal options, and you have to pick the least of all the evils.

    As for leaving a son in a car alone, it depends entirely on the age of the son, along with many other factors. There are no absolutes for a "son" of unspecified age.

    And about my dog taking control of the car, she could put all her weight on the horn and still would not honk it. It's very unlikely that she could depress the power button, shift lever, or anything else - especially if I kept her in the harness.

    One thing is sure - she (and the young children she would nip at) would be safer with her in the car than with her tethered outside.
     
  2. RhythmDoctor

    RhythmDoctor Member

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    If I have to stop, this will be posted on the windows
    Note:
    Air Conditioner Is ON !!!
     
  3. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    I've left the car locked and running before, but I had to leave the fob in the car. I assume this is because my car doesn't have the SKS. I tend to power up the window instead of using the little key for locking, but I can see how that could be a problem with a dog.
     
  4. SparrowHawk60

    SparrowHawk60 Happy to be green!

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    I couldn't agree more with this statement! Take the dog out of the car for a "Potty" break, get your food to go, eat in the car, find a nice shady spot and eat there with your dog...
    On be half of the Corgi Gang, Don't be stupid!
     
  5. McDonald

    McDonald New Member

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    I am so with you on this one. We know our dogs and that they are perfectly safe inside the car for a few minutes, and that the world is safer with them inside the car. Anytime I have left Kid in the car, I have had him in sight (but out of his sight) to see what he does. He curls up in his little car seat (harnessed in), and goes to sleep. He'd be fine if I needed to leave him in there for a few minutes. A good idea is to leave a water bowl in the car, I use a Buddy Bowl which has a lip around the edge that prevents the water from splashing (even holds water upside down).

    I laughed so hard thinking about my Chihuahua hitting the power button, running down to depress the emergency brake (it's hard enough for me to do), jumping back up on the seat, shifting it into drive or reverse (he'd be sure to check the back up camera), running back down and throwing all of his weight on to the gas pedal.
     
  6. nmrickie

    nmrickie Member

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    Where is the driver supposed to pee?
     
  7. dbcassidy

    dbcassidy Toyota Hybrid Nation, 8 Million Strong

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    I can't leave my 2 chocolate labradors in a running car. They would STEAL it and go out cruising for a couple of hours.:D

    Dbcassidy
     
  8. JHSmith

    JHSmith 2020 Avalon Hybrid Owner

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    What's worse:

    Imagine tying your two labs to the bumper of the Prius!
    Labs see a cat, :peep:

    off go the labs :bolt:

    with Prius being pulled along! :car:
     
  9. SparrowHawk60

    SparrowHawk60 Happy to be green!

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    In the gas tank of a Hummer for all I care!
     
  10. RhythmDoctor

    RhythmDoctor Member

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    That's exactly what I did. About 3 hours into the trip I stopped at a Wawa in Bowie, MD and walked her around. Unfortunately I realized that the PG County Cop would not take kindly to my taking a whiz on the grass (or in the tank of a Hummer :eek: ). With 3 hours left to go, I wasn't gonna be able to hold it. So I put my plan in place - the sign went on the window (in plain view of the cop), the door got locked, and I ran inside long enough to pee and grab some food. The dog was fine when I got out. You guys can sue me if you want.

    Seriously, while I respect and appreciate everyone's advice - even the points I disagree with - but some of you are going a little overboard with the "thou shalt not." There are times when you just may need to leave your dog for a few minutes. The same rules will not always work for everyone. In the case of my little toy poodle, her head is not any larger than her neck, so she has slipped out of her harness and even out of her collar before. This only happens when she gets very excited, so when we see it coming we can pick her up and away from whatever has gotten her excited. For instance, it happened on this same trip a year ago when I was walking her. She slipped out of her harness and went running toward the gas pumps with cars driving around. Scared the crap out of me! (This was the first time she slipped out of her harness - I learned after that one.) So I can't even imagine ever tying her up and leaving her unattended - if she didn't escape on her own, someone might steal her.

    Anyway, trip was successful, and she's now being babysat by my father in Virginia. Thanks for the advice - I did use it to determine my actions while on the trip.
     
  11. McDonald

    McDonald New Member

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    Good to hear everything went well. I tried this with my Chihuahua today in the car, just in the parking lot. Worked great! And it was nice getting back into a nice cool car!
     
  12. dixiepeep

    dixiepeep New Member

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    I would leave on note otherwise you will get some ugly looks and someone may call the animal rescue. If I were in the parking lot and I saw a dog in the car..I would check it out because our summers are 96 to 100. I would also leave a small bowl of water inside the car and a chew toy so the dog does not get bored and bark. I would also (like suggested earlier) park the car in an area where I could keep an eye on it.It would not be a bad idea to put heat shades on the front of the car on the inside so your A/C does not have to work so hard. Then I would park with a side view of the vehicle. I think everyone had great solutions!!:) Prius Chat ROCKS!!

     
  13. freshmtt

    freshmtt Dachshund Addict

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    If you have to leave the dog in the car then I would put a sign up in one of the windows explaining that the car is on and the a/c is running to keep the dog cool. No harm in doing that to ward off any phone calls to the police.

    However, the best option is just to stop at a place that you can get takeout even if it has to be fast food and just eat in the car while parked.

    There are always plenty of fast food places to stop at and eat healthy at the same time, you can just get something to go and sit inside the car with your pooch and munch on your lunch.
     
  14. Stev0

    Stev0 Honorary Hong Kong Cavalier

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    I wouldn't do this simply for one reason: A couple of weeks ago I had to run to the store. My girlfriend didn't feel like going in so she waited with the A/C running. Even though I was in there less than 10 minutes, when I got back I noticed my tank's MPG plummeted to 35 MPG!
     
  15. mingoglia

    mingoglia Member

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    It really depends on how many miles you had since you reset your counter. I've idled my Prius with A/C on full blast (in AZ) while eating in a restaurant (on the way to the circus and didn't want the kids to endure cooling the car down again) and running into the store (figured the day before I may have killed my mileage while in the restaurant so figured what the heck) on one of my tanks of fuel and I still got 45mpg on that tank overall. That week it was around 112-113 every day and I'm not shy to have the A/C on full blast for the duration of my trip so 45mpg is pretty darn good. I'd estimate that in that weather without idling I would have probably gotten 47mpg on that tank. When the temp is 105 or under I consistently get low 50's.
     
  16. RhythmDoctor

    RhythmDoctor Member

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    Didn't I say I was going to do just that?

    As I mentioned, I have not yet found a place with a takeout toilet. That was my main concern on a 6-hour trip, and was the reason I had to leave her in the car for a few minutes. I thought my post made that clear.
     
  17. Fraser

    Fraser New Member

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    Another thought: Today or yesterday I read a story on the Net about an officer who left her K-9 in her cruiser while she went into the station house. She left the A/C on, but the compressor failed and the dog died. Department ruled it wasn't her fault, but the dog still is dead. You gotta do what you gotta do, but there could be adverse consequences; consider all alternatives.
     
  18. RhythmDoctor

    RhythmDoctor Member

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    How long was she in the station house?

    Honestly, I think the 3 minutes it takes a man to pee would not be enough to kill any dog, even if the compressor fails - especially with sun shades in the windshield.

    There are risks to everything. I could have decided to take a leak in the grassy area by the store while that County cop was driving up, he could have arrested me, and then I would be forced to leave my dog in the car for a couple hours while they hauled me into the station. (After all, they leave their own dogs in the car, right?)

    There are risks to everything. Three minutes to take a piss is not an unreasonable risk.

    Where is the common sense here?
     
  19. Fraser

    Fraser New Member

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    She was conducting police business, not personal. The time she was inside was not definitively stated. My opinion is that she should have and could have brought the dog into the station. But it didn't happen that way. The chances of a compressor failing are pretty small. But it didn't happen that way.
     
  20. rfred

    rfred New Member

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    I haven't read every post in this thread, but could a neighbor look in on the dog during the day? Seems that the discussion is all about the human needing to eat and pee; what about Fido?