Police in appeal on dogs left in hot cars

With the ‘sun splitting the stones’ the Craigavon PSNI social media post was up to their usual standard of humour infused with a fair degree of common sense.

They warned drivers that leaving a dog in the car could result in them making use of their window breaking tool, indeed they also warned they could set the dogs on such carelss owners. -

Posting a picture of the rather cool looking Dino the officer posting - we’ll call him The Laughing Policeman (or woman) - had this to say:

“This is Dino. Dino is loving life, not just because he’s class looking, but because his handler left the car window open, which means he gets to live.

“Dino hates two things: burglars, and dog owners who leave their dogs locked in cars in the heat with no ventilation.

“Incidentally, during a foot patrol of the park... we found out he LOVES ice cream.

“Anyhow, here’s the deal: If you leave your dog in a car in the heat with no window down, we’ll take your reg, find your address, and give it to Dino, who will then eat you.

“In addition, you may return to your car to find that my handy window breaker tool has left a load of glass inside your car, and that we have acquired a new station dog.

“OR... always be mindful of the heat, leave your windows open a bit (even just a couple of centimetres) if you have to leave your dog for a while and all will be grand! Dino will then maintain cute fluffy ice cream eating mode, and not hit beast mode. Trust me, that’s what you want.

“Every year dogs die due to carelessness by owners. It’s heartbreaking for them, and it is all entirely avoidable. Let’s make this a good year for Craigavon dogs!

“If you see any dogs that look distressed or over heated whilst locked in a car, call 101 and we’d be happy to come and break some windows.”

They signed off their post with a selection of hashtags: #YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry; #PDDino; #WhoDidntLetTheDogsOut; #CraigavonDawgs; #DinoLAD am=nd (best of all) #PutYerWindiesDownOrGetYerWindiesPutIn

In a later post they clarified what was meant by ‘a while’: “To be absolutely clear to the critics here: leaving your dog ‘for a while’, as in ‘a short while’, as in ‘buying a pint of milk’ length of time.

“Obviously, if you’re planning a full shopping trip then leave pooch at home.

“Trust me, I’m in cars every day with windows that don’t go down, the bit of fresh air that an open door for a brief second (or area cm on each window in this case) makes a HUGE difference.”