"Cruel" shopper slammed for leaving dog in hot car
A woman has been slammed on social media for allegedly leaving her dog in an unattended car for 40 minutes on a hot day.
The incident occurred at Warringah Mall in Sydney's north on Monday, when temperatures reached up to 28 degrees.
Claire, claimed the dog-owner pulled up next to her in an undercover car park, and then watched the woman leave her pet locked in an unattended car while she shopped.
"Myself and my mother waited till she got back," she told Yahoo News Australia.
"It was around 3.15pm and she didn’t come back till just before 4pm".
During that time, Claire said she called security, who attempted to contact the owner via a mobile number on the dog's harness. She also tried calling the RSPCA and police but claimed that not much could be done.
When the owner finally returned, Claire questioned her about leaving the "panting and drooling" animal unattended, but the woman reportedly just "laughed and scoffed" before "driving away as quick as possible".
Claire shared photos of the pup on Facebook and criticised the owner, for her "absolute irresponsibility and disgusting behaviour", calling her an "absolute d**khead".
"People like you should not own animals," she wrote.
While many agreed that the woman's actions were "absolutely awful," a few others argued the act was fine as the car was undercover and "the dog doesn't look hot and distressed at all."
Another person who claimed to know the owner, said that the woman's car "has an aircon function which allows the air-conditioning to run when the engine is not running" and the pet is generally "very spoiled and happy".
A few others disagreed, and said that the act was "cruel" and "simply disgusting" regardless.
"Undercover or not you don't lock a baby in a car, you don't lock an animal in a car ... no excuse," one wrote.
An RSPCA spokesperson has also spoken out and said that leaving a dog inside a car unattended is "always dangerous" no matter the location or the temperature outside.
They said that even on mild days, temperatures in a car can "rapidly heat up" and can reach "double" the outside temperature.
"When it’s 22 degrees Celsius outside, the inside of a car can reach a stifling 47 degrees and this is no environment for a dog," the spokesperson said.
Image: Facebook