[legion]

I left my MIL's dog locked in my truck for over an hour on Saturday. I didn't crack the windows.

It was 55º and cloudy. I have a full-sized truck--lot's of air volume inside. There was a chance of rain at any moment. Oh, and the dog? A maltese that weighs all of ten pounds. The dog simply curled up and slept on the driver's seat until I returned. I let her out both before and after returning to the vehicle.

I agree that a bit of common sense goes a long way. Locking a 90 lb. dog in the car with windows not cracked on a 95º day is bad. Leaving a 10 lb. dog in the same situation on a 55º day isn't.

What I dislike is "blanket" laws that say it is illegal to leave a dog in a car unattended. That makes taking the animal to the vet and picking up carry-out on the way home rather difficult. It infuriates me that people get these stupid, over-reaching laws passed to account for 1% of all dog owners while existing "cruelty to animals" laws would suffice. (Many restaurants are forbidden from allowing animals inside due to health code.)