A woman in Coquitlam, British Columbia, was fined $500 this week after leaving two dogs inside her parked vehicle while she visited a nearby business. The incident occurred just after noon on Wednesday at Sunwood Square, a shopping centre located in the 3000 block of Lougheed Highway.
The Coquitlam RCMP and Coquitlam bylaw services confirmed to Postmedia that they were called after a bystander spotted what appeared to be two dogs inside a parked car. Police and bylaw officers arrived at the scene and found that the driver was not in sight. While assessing the situation, the owner of the dogs returned to her vehicle and was issued a bylaw ticket. It remains unclear how long the dogs had been left in the vehicle or where the driver had gone while the car was parked.
Rising Temperatures and Risks
Temperatures reached a high of 25°C on Wednesday afternoon. According to the Canada Safety Council, temperatures inside a car can climb 20 degrees higher than the outside temperature in as little as 20 minutes. Sarah Bird, senior manager of Coquitlam bylaw services, reminded the public: "Do not leave your pet in a vehicle on a warm or hot day. Even parked in the shade or with windows open, the temperature inside a vehicle can reach dangerous levels in a short period of time."
Bystander Intervention
A public post was shared to a Tricities Facebook group by an anonymous bystander around 1:30 p.m., detailing the same incident. The post included a photo of a white Hyundai being inspected by bylaw officers while parked in front of the White Spot at Sunwood Square. The individual wrote: "Today, I observed two large breed senior dogs in a hot car for over an hour. I called the SPCA, police, RCMP, and then bylaw." The anonymous individual noted that bylaw officers arrived within five minutes, with police following shortly after. The post also suggested that the driver had been enjoying a meal at a nearby Cora's before returning to the car. "This lady should consider herself lucky that her windows weren't smashed and her dogs weren't apprehended," the post concluded.
Hot Car Reports in B.C.
In 2024, the most recent year for which data was available, the B.C. SPCA's animal help line received 841 reports about animals found in hot cars. The B.C. SPCA recommends that if you spot an animal inside a parked car on a hot day, you should make a note of the licence plate and vehicle description and contact the nearest business to have the animal's owner paged immediately. If the animal appears to be in distress, contact the local animal control agency, police or RCMP, or the B.C. SPCA animal help line at 1-855-622-7722 immediately. Be sure to provide the exact location of the vehicle, as well as a description of the vehicle and the dog.
