Golly gosh gee whiz .... I just didn't know....

from this morning's Herald:
Dog rescued from hot car

By Eva Hoare Staff Reporter
Fri, Sep 3 - 4:53 AM
A long-haired dachshund found inside a car in a grocery store parking lot nearly died Thursday in sweltering 53-degree heat.
"We were very fortunate that a Good Samaritan, just in the nick of time . . . removed the dog from the vehicle and called us," said Kristin Williams, executive director for the Nova Scotia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty.
The young, male dog recovered. It was one of more than 20 such cases that had SPCA officers busy during the day, Williams said.
The SPCA was called to the Atlantic Superstore lot on Joseph Howe Drive around 11:30 a.m. The dachshund was in really bad shape after being inside the vehicle for about 20 minutes, she said.
It was the second call to the same location that morning, although the other dog — a long-haired, mixed-breed collie — wasn’t in nearly as bad condition, Williams said.
"We tested the surface area of the vehicle; it was 53 degrees . . . although inside the vehicle, it was probably much higher," she said of the car that had the dachshund inside it.
The owner didn’t realize the dog was so close to dying, said Williams.
"That was definitely the worst we’ve seen in a long time," she said. "He was quite surprised that it was such a serious concern and that the dog became so ill so quickly."
So far, Thursday was the busiest of the year to date for this kind of call, said the spokeswoman.
It wasn’t clear Thursday whether the society would proceed with charges in this or any of the other cases, said Williams.
Such severe incidents serve to let the public know just how serious it is to leave a dog unattended inside a vehicle or outside without shelter in extreme heat, Williams said.

The SPCA will be on standby over the weekend and has a number of volunteers on duty to deal with any animal troubles associated with the impending storm, she said. Homeowners should consider posting a sign on their doors to indicate the number of pets in the residence, their behaviour and other needs if the hurricane causes great damage in the area, she said.
( ehoare@herald.ca)
Twenty dogs?  Somehow I suspect thats the tip of the iceburg and that the total around the province would stack up a lot higher than that.
And yet it "isn't clear whether the society would proceed with charges in this or any of the other cases"? 
Laws by themselves are never an adequate deterrent.  What would happen if people were pulled over, given a breathalyser and then sent on their merry way if they told the rcmp they didn't realize they had too much to drink? 
In all fairness, I suspect the society is caught in a funding catch 22 type of situation with respect to cruelty investigations.  In the publicly available board minutes for the June 28th meeting, it was reported that "Provincial is still having a challenging year with respect to investigations".  In realspeak that could mean that charges that cannot be successfully prosecuted might not get laid. 
And yet .... people will continue leaving dogs in hot cars until a few ARE successfully prosecuted. 
Otherwise ... people will keep pulling the stupid card and dogs will continue to be in harms way.
What time is it?  In a world where not everyone can be 'good for goodness sake', its time to set a precedent by making an example.   In this less than perfect world, the best defense for the animals could just be a good offense.