When is a law not a law?

Time to moan loudly about the lack of air conditioning, talk up the merits of wearing scrubs, and attempt to cover yourself in enough fake tan to hide the pasty white of working long shifts inside.

Time also for pets to suffer: heat stroke, fly strike, grass seeds – they’re all out there.

As the owner of Hollie the Peke (pictured) I’m all too aware of the heat problems black brachys can suffer with. To get round this I try to only buy fuel at petrol stations that allow me to “pay at pump”. Unfortunately this means there’s no stopping for the odd bottle of wine on the way home… if only “pay at pump” covered more than petrol!

Dogs in cars

To be honest, I’ve never had to consider travelling with Hollie other than in our own car. For hot times we have a cooling coat from Easidri, which is amazing, particularly during the time it takes a car to cool down at the start of a journey. We’ve also used it recently for her at night when it’s been so humid.

However venturing further afield seems limited with such a dog. For example, I was shocked to learn dogs must stay in cars during some ferry journeys – a situation that recently had tragic consequences.

Out of sight…

This made me think: is a law only actionable when people can see it being broken?

For example, if I left Hollie sweltering in the car outside my local Simply Food people would be bricking my car window before I got through the queue. So why is it acceptable on a ferry?

Are clients fully aware of the risks they take in hot weather?

Remember: dogs die in hot cars – #‎DontCookYourDog‬.