Photo: Courtesy of Dedham Animal Control
DEDHAM, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Despite a concerted effort from town officials and residents, Dedham is still seeing an uptick of dogs being left in hot cars this summer.
"The reports have just been crazy," Dedham Animal Control officer Deni Goldman told WBZ NewsRadio Tuesday. "Last Friday alone, I had three, and you’re talking about a 91° day."
Goldman's frustration is in part tied to a driven media campaign to promote and enforce animal welfare, including signs warning people not to leave their dog in the car; she does not understand why some folks are not getting the message.
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"We didn’t really expect to have an uptick this year. We kind of figured it would be the opposite this year," Goldman said.
In one instance, according to Goldman, the offending vehicle was found not only in the parking lot of a store that supported the campaign, but in-between two warning signs.
Goldman thought the attention given to this summer's high temperatures would also spurn people to be more careful with their pets, but no such luck.
"It just seems like we put it out there for the summer, despite all the extreme heatwaves we’ve been having, we’ve had even more incidents than we’ve had in the past," said Goldman.
When asked if the incidents affect her on a personal level, Goldman replied, "There’s a responsibility that a person needs to take if they’re going to be the owner of an animal, and anything shy of that is disturbing."
"You would treat your pet as you would treat your child, and you wouldn’t leave your child in a car, and you wouldn’t leave that child for days on end by themselves," Goldman added.
WBZ’s Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.
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