Between May and August 11, humane law enforcement officers at Lollypop Farm say they received 122 calls reporting animals left outside with no food, water, or shelter and 54 calls from people who reported finding dogs left alone in cars.
That can be dangerous, and even deadly, and not just on hot days. When it's 80 degrees outside, the temperature inside your car can heat up to 99 degrees within just 10 minutes.
Gates Police officer Lance Duffy says people who leave their animals unattended in their vehicle really aren't considering the consequences.
"They think they can run into the store for five minutes. Well, five minutes turns into 15 or 30. A half hour in a car is a long time, especially with the hot days we've had recently."
Duffy says if you discover an animal stranded in a hot car, call 911 and try to locate the owner of the car before you make any attempt to break into the vehicle unless you think the animal's life is in imminent danger.
"If you've exhausted those efforts and you're still not successful, you stand a much better chance of not dealing with anything other than, 'I'm trying to save this dog.' If you just go up and smash a window, you might have to answer to that action."
Officer Duffy says Gates Police sometimes take three or four of these calls in one day.
Around noon on July 29 when the high temperature reached 82 degrees, Lynne Sanchez-Fries spotted a small dog alone and panting in a car parked outside a Rochester restaurant.
She found the dog's owner and told him his dog was in danger and he was breaking the law.
"I actually had my cell phone with me, and I looked it up and I found the law and offered to show him and he kept telling me that it wasn't that warm out, that the dog was fine."
Lynne called 311, but before humane officers showed up, the man finally drove away with the dog after about a half hour. She doesn't regret her persistence in trying to get the man to not leave his dog alone in the hot car.
"And maybe the next time that man will think twice and say, 'Well, you know, it's not gonna look good.' "
