FARMINGTON – A police officer was called to the parking lot of a Route 2 business Wednesday to check two large, older dogs left in a small car with windows only slightly open and outside temps in the high 80s.

Beverly Morgan of New Sharon said she heard the dogs barking as she returned to her vehicle after shopping about 12:30 p.m. She called police and watched the dogs for about 20 minutes while she waited for police.

“They probably love their pets and the dogs want to ride but they aren’t thinking,” she said as Farmington Officer Ted Neil prepared to go into the store to find the owner of the dogs in the Massachusetts registered car.

“It happens quite frequently on hot days,” Neil said of police being called to check dogs left in vehicles. “In my experience, I never have repeat offenders. It’s just one time.”

Neil found the owner, who came to the car, turned the air conditioning on and then finished shopping while Neil watched his vehicle.

“He thought his dogs were fine. He didn’t think he’d been in there long,” Neil said the man told him.

Neil’s advice for dog owners who bring their pets on errands is bring a spare key, leave the vehicle running with the air conditioning going and lock it up.

According to Humane Society for the United States’ website, the inside of a car can reach 120 degrees in a matter of minutes even when parked in the shade. Pets who are left in a hot car even briefly can suffer from heat exhaustion, heat stoke, brain damage and even can die.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said in a news release that “on a 78 degree day, the inside of a parked car in the shade is approximately 90 degrees,” and “a car parked in the sun can reach 160 degrees in minutes.”

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