DIANA REPUBLIC

It was in the news yesterday – again. Some thoughtless woman left her dog in the car while she had lunch at the mall. The windows of the car were rolled down, but apparently that was not enough to keep the poor thing alive in the 90 degree heat (really????).

I know this happens all the time and I know it happens to children as well which is, of course, more tragic. My questions where dogs are concerned are these:

Why do people insist on taking their dogs with them everywhere?

and

What makes them think that their dogs want to go with them?

I have larger dogs so even if I were inclined, it would be inconvenient for me to load them into the car every time I ran an errand. And to my knowledge they don’t make purses for eighty pound dogs, not that I could lift it if they did. Regardless of how much my departure may seem to distress my dogs (and by now it really doesn’t) I know their secret. Sure they are excited to see me when I get home. Of course they make a huge production to welcome me. This is all a ruse to disguise the fact that while I was out – they slept.

Now if I have a choice between a nice long nap and being carted around in someone’s purse – I choose nap. Nap vs. car ride? With my nose out the window? This one is a bit more difficult, but still I choose nap. Nap vs. sitting in your Camry while you enjoy a Cobb salad? Yup, you guessed it. Nap.

Leave your dogs at home people. Dogs are not, despite what Paris Hilton and her ilk may convey, an accessory. If your dog is destructive when left to his own devises – crate him. If he has separation anxiety put on a nice CD or the television. Maybe the separation anxiety is yours – work it out. If you can’t find a way to safely leave your pet at home while you run errands or meet a friend for lunch, then maybe you shouldn’t have a pet.

And really, if you don’t have the common sense to know that a dog will not survive for two hours in a car in 90 degree heat then there are no maybe’s about it.