One favor for a dog

A friend sent me a text blaming me for taking her dog for rides. It was an innocent thing I started that became a habit. We’d drive to the grocery store, through the expanse of fields between Webberville and Bastrop. His name was Forrest. He was a dingo; sharp as a tack and friendly as a lamb. It wasn’t always easy to take him along because dogs are not unlike small children while travelling. There’s some attention to be paid.

It was, always, worth the costs.

I love dogs. In fact, my affection extends to cats, lizards, birds, snakes – almost anything alive except for scorpions. Tuna, the cat who lives behind the newspaper office can attest to this. She doesn’t like humans, yet. But she is fed and watered daily. She doesn’t allow petting, yet. But she and I talk every morning. She waits for me. She knows breakfast is at 8 a.m. and dinner is just after sundown. I don’t like animal dinners served under the sun, during the hottest part of the day. I don’t mind not petting the cat. It’s feline nature to be skittish. It’s satisfying enough to sit next to her and talk sports and/or defend my love of John Prine songs. If you are reading this, are covered in hair, and you’re small, I’ll feed you – even if you prefer Alan Jackson or Leon Russell tunes. I’m happy you are alive. I enjoy seeing you.

That’s the heartbreak of Forrest. He died. A neighbor, who lived in the woods behind the house, was unloading her shopping and left the car open. Forrest jumped in without saying a word since he didn’t talk as much as Tuna. He jumped onto the backseat and waited for the ride. She never noticed him and shut the door. The heat of the day killed him.

The pain (I still feel it) leads to a point. Animals should not be left alone in vehicles. Even scorpions should not be left in a car. The Humane Society notes, when it’s 72 degrees Fahrenheit outside, the temperature inside a car can rise to 116 degrees within an hour. When it’s 80, the temperature inside can heat up to 99 degrees within 10 minutes and rolling down the windows has been shown to have little effect on the internal temperature.

Occasionally, when I go to Walmart or HEB, I see dogs left in pick-up beds. I know you think they like the ride. But they don’t like sitting above the asphalt, under the sun. That panting I see is not contentment. They need moving air and lots of water.

It’s easy to think, “It’s just an animal.” I passionately beg to differ. Domestication of animals requires an awareness we’ve made them reliant. They depend upon us. They want company. Deer don’t hop onto the passenger seat and bark “hello” to everybody they recognize on the way to somewhere. That’s a dog thing and it’s cool.

I feel bad about Forrest. It’s impossible to imagine what he went through without intense pain. I don’t mind at all that my friend lashed out at me via text for creating his habit and enabling his joy. It’s tragic and painful. But I learned a long time ago there are different reactions to tragedy. Blame is an easy first impulse. Then, it’s easy to think, “What if?” The most effective, is to share the lesson and mention how it could have been avoided. Firemen don’t like fires; I’ve seen law enforcement personnel cry at accident scenes. And I hurt over a dog’s suffering. There’s no way to measure if pre-emption saved someone or something, but I know it works. Warnings are good things.

Please, now, while it’s too hot for humans, consider the animals. Nothing alive should have to endure something so hot and easy to avoid.