Despite repeated warnings, officials at Fredericton’s Regent Mall say some pet owners are still leaving their animals in vehicles on hot summer days.
“This past weekend we had at least a couple of instances when we found animals in cars,” says Paul Johnston, a spokesperson for the Regent Mall.
After several instances of pets being left in hot vehicles, the mall has introduced the Paw Patrol program, in which security officers patrol the parking lot and keep an eye out for animals left alone in cars.
“Put a name to something we think has high importance, especially on hot days like today,” says Johnston.
“We have a paging system in the mall where we can page the customer, find the customer and let them know. It’s a policy of course and barring that not working for us, we would call the SPCA or police.”
Bethany Matchett stayed in an air-conditioned car with her two dogs while her parents ran into the mall to run a few errands on Monday. She can’t understand why some pet owners think it’s OK to leave an animal unattended.
“I can’t wrap my head around it. It’s basically putting a death match on a dog,” she says.
While Johnston says the problem isn’t necessarily getting worse, it’s still happening far too often, and he wants pet owners to know they will be watching.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Nick Moore
