Police respond to 3 calls of dogs locked in hot cars in GTA, anticipate more

TORONTO — York Regional Police say they have responded to three incidents of dogs being left alone in hot cars on Monday and are appealing to the public to report any more cases if they see them.

Const. Andy Pattenden says police responded to a Walmart parking lot at 8300 Highway 27 W. just before 12:30 p.m. but the driver had left the scene before police arrived.

READ MORE: 5 signs a dog left in a vehicle is in distress (and what you should do if you see one)

Pattenden said the second incident was in Vaughan and the driver had again left the scene before officers could speak with them.

“With temperatures they way they’re going to be for the next few days, we’ll get multiple calls like this everyday for sure,” he said.

A third incident happened at Markville Mall in Markham and officers were at the scene looking for the driver but could not locate them either.

“The message is pretty clear, on days like this in fact any day where it’s either extreme cold or extreme heat, leaving your pet locked inside of a vehicle is just a bad idea,” Pattenden said.

“The inside of the cars heat up much more quickly obviously than the outside air and causes a dangerous situation for the animals inside. So don’t do it and by all means if anyone does see an animal in distress in a vehicle please call 911.”