Leaving animals in hot cars, pickup beds a form of abuse

To the Editor:

Abuse to animals comes in many forms; some are blatant and some can get by easily without much notice.

Again, we are facing the hot days of summer, and again, as I spend time in Libby shopping or going to restaurants around town I see so many people either leaving their animals in cars or in the backs of pickups. While the animals are over-heating in the vehicle, the owners are in the air conditioned store as comfortable as can be! Just because the dog is in the back of the pickup doesn't mean it's cool there either. The metal combined with the heat makes for a very hot place to be, even for a few minutes.

I really have a hard time believing people can be so cruel as to not take the heat into consideration and just leave their pets at home in the shade! Maybe if the tables were turned and they were put in that situation for a few hours they would wake up and see the reality of how tortured these animals really are. I would just guess we could not tolerate the inhumane situations we put our animals through, but Old Rover can take it, after all, he's "just" a dog!

Please, think before you load your animal up and take him to town. Yes, he might love to ride in the car, but it's cruel to take him in the hot weather. Leave him at home under the shade tree and he will be so much happier!

Sherry Bumgarner