Thursday, March 28, 2024

Police say dog left in vehicle at West Shore Town Centre was “not in distress”

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West Shore RCMP responded to a call on Tuesday evening about a distressed dog who was left in a vehicle in the West Shore Town Centre parking lot – its owner was watching a movie at the Cineplex Odeon theatre nearby.

According to a press release from police, when they arrived on site they discovered that the dog had water, the vehicle was parked in the shade, and all the windows were down.

“The dog’s owner did everything right,” says West Shore RCMP spokesman Constable Matt Baker.

“The dog was well looked after and did not show any signs of distress. It’s good to remind everyone the temperature in vehicles can double in as little as 30 minutes if left in direct sunshine. Of course, fur babies can always stay home if it’s a hot day.”

Baker told Victoria Buzz that legally, there are no requirements for pet owners to not leave their dogs in their vehicle, other than to provide them with the “necessities of life”.

The witness who called police stated that the golden retriever was panting heavily and observed the dog vomiting as well. However the dog appeared to be fine when RCMP arrived to investigate.

Cineplex staff responds

According to the Cineplex staff members who were first made aware that there was a dog left in a vehicle, there is more to the story than what police saw.

The main witness in the incident stated that staff members at the movie theatre were the ones who brought water to the golden lab. The pet’s owner had only left some water bottles in a bucket of ice, and the dog had no way of reaching the melted ice.

Cineplex staff then got him multiple bowls of water, which he drank eagerly, after they saw him panting heavily and vomiting.

“By the time the police showed up we had been outside with him cooling him down for 30 minutes and calming him down.”

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Brishti Basu
Former Senior Staff Writer and Content Manager at Victoria Buzz.

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