Leaving animals in Model S

Your speculative situation nearly happened once already. Someone here on the forum left the windows closed and fired up the AC while they went inside to shop. Upon returning, found some people about to break their windows, despite the obvious noise of the AC compressor. I'll see if I can dig up the thread.

Did you have the AC on though? Your post isn't exactly clear on that, b/c just having the sunroof open doesn't dissipate or make the car THAT much cooler.

pbleic said:

Seems like you need a sign to put in the window - A/C ON, temperature 68 inside. Dog is fine.

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I would put at least 2 signs. One on either side (posted on the inside to they cannot blow away or get removed)

Kids dying in car has in the news a lot recently (at least 18 so far this year), and a very emotional PSA (One Decision (Child Safety Film - Vehicular Heatstroke) - YouTube) on youtube has over 7 Million hits so far.

It's hard to blame people for reporting kids or pets in a car if they think they are in danger.

liuping said:

It's hard to blame people for reporting kids or pets in a car if they think they are in danger.

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Right. I think it's reasonable to expect that a passerby or law enforcement officer will break into the car sooner rather than later.

Table of State Laws for Animals in Parked Cars

Frank Mucus said:

Did you have the AC on though? Your post isn't exactly clear on that, b/c just having the sunroof open doesn't dissipate or make the car THAT much cooler.

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I agree. Doesn't say the AC was on, just plenty of air. A window open is not enough to keep a dog cool. Someone should break your window if you don't have AC on, and only window open. Gets much warmer than you think for a dog with no AC.
And if AC was on, need to make a sign that states that so you do not have future problem.

capt601 said:

I agree. Doesn't say the AC was on, just plenty of air. A window open is not enough to keep a dog cool. Someone should break your window if you don't have AC on, and only window open. Gets much warmer than you think for a dog with no AC.
And if AC was on, need to make a sign that states that so you do not have future problem.

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Or maybe rather than a sign, they could try hanging a thermometer.

ItsNotAboutTheMoney said:

Or maybe rather than a sign, they could try hanging a thermometer.

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I like that! Sign that says AC on with an arrow pointing at temperature.

- - - Updated - - -

https://my.vetmatrixbase.com/clients/12185/images/Educational/Temperature_In_Hot_Car_Chart.png

pbleic said:

Seems like you need a sign to put in the window - A/C ON, temperature 68 inside. Dog is fine.

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+1..LOL....I can see people trying to be helpful as we've seen and heard kids/pets dying in cars due to careless people.

But, she should't have jumped to conclusion...start by running in convenient store and asking who's Toyota that is

pbleic said:

"But Captain, she called the Enterprise a garbage scow!"

Had an interesting experience. Parked the car on an 83 degree day with the sunroof at 43% open and my dog inside. Plenty of air. Went into a convenience store for 5 minutes and came outside and overheard an older woman on the phone with the police. She was complaining about the dog being in the car for "half an hour" with no windows open. She said the car was a Toyota!!!!

I said "excuse me?" and we had a little to do. I told her the sunroof was wide open and she said that I should crack the window. I pointed out that I couldn't have cracked a window as wide as the vent was open, in area, without having the dog jump out of the window.

In any case, it got me wondering: what if I had left all the windows closed for 30 minutes and the A/C at 68? I might have come back to a fire truck, smashed windows, and find myself under arrest. And the dog would have been comfy. A new problem made possible by the Tesla.

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Opening your sun roof does not automagically make it cool inside the vehicle if no other windows are open or the vehicle isn't moving. Relying on pre-cooling to keep your pooch cool is not a good idea because when you turn on cooling using the app, it times out after a little while. The AC can also fail while it is running. If any of that were to happen here, you could end up with a dead dog. Not so cool.

I probably would have also called the police in the same situation.

AmpedRealtor said:

I probably would have also called the police in the same situation.

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+1 -- and I will also add that the title to this thread doesn't make sense. She wasn't an an "animal activist". She was a reasonable person looking out for the well being of your dog.

It's your dog, it's your car, it's your problem and responsibility.

Not ok for strangers to immediately assume the car is too hot and you are killing the dog. IMO .

AmpedRealtor said:

Relying on pre-cooling to keep your pooch cool is not a good idea because when you turn on cooling using the app, it times out after a little while. The AC can also fail while it is running. If any of that were to happen here, you could end up with a dead dog. Not so cool.

I probably would have also called the police in the same situation.

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It's a 30-minute timer. One that you can easily renew with your phone. I have left my dog in our Model S while I went into a store and not had a second thought. After all, if we're talking about what "can" happen, here in California, we have earthquakes. If there's an earthquake my dog is much safer in the car than in the building that is likely to fall down. So in California the responsible thing to do is to leave your dog safe and sound in climate-controlled comfort in your car and not take them with you.

Preface--- Like I tell my kids, try to avoid even the APPEARANCE of doing wrong unless you want to spend a lot of time and effort proving you're not.

Leaving a pet/person in a locked car these days will certainly, eventually, result in a lot of wasted time and effort. While the Tesla (or any other car) can be configured to leave the AC running, it won't keep your window in one piece if a determined "activist" stumbles across it. As big at the pano roof is, it won't be adequate-- try it yourself on a hot day sometime...

We had a widely-publicized story here a few years ago about a police K9 that died in a patrol car that was left with the engine running and the AC on. AC failed at some point and the dog baked inside. The car was equipped with a fairly elaborate protection system-- way more thorough than our Teslas-- and yet human error still sealed the dog's fate.

Pets and kids (regardless of age, but especially if too young to exit a locked car on their own and find you safely), both can be cumbersome and difficult to plan around, but leaving them in a car-- under any circumstances-- is just asking for a prolonged day. Why open yourself up to that hassle??

Links:
Pa. police dog dies of heat stroke in car - The York Daily Record
K-9 Vehicle Heat Alarm Systems by AceK9

Gabzqc said:

It's your dog, it's your car, it's your problem and responsibility.

Not ok for strangers to immediately assume the car is too hot and you are killing the dog. IMO .

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It maybe your dog, but there there are law protecting it from abuse (at least in the US) and baking it alive is considered abuse by most people.

It not that hard to put a sign in the window to avoid any confusion.

A propos this, I posted my solution some 5-6 months back. Here it is again (and I did fix that bad URL, for which I have no excuse..... ).
This laminated sign goes on left and right windows every time the malamutes are in the car, which is close to 100% of the time:


Now, just as a thought: that woman very likely could have exaggerated her "half hour" (how on earth would she know?), but no one could have known how long you were going to be away from your vehicle, it seems to me.

When leaving our dogs in our ICE cars, I left the engine running with A/C on and always cracked the windows in case the engine or A/C quit. Passerbys could feel the cold air coming from the cracked windows and hear the engine running. I also parked in the shade if I could find some nearby.

I would go with AudubonB's signs, shade, A/C, and cracked windows. That should take care of people that might intervene, and lower the risk if the A/C quits.

GSP