Cracking the windows doesn't let in enough cool air to keep the dog from getting heat stroke. OP should have taken the dog home and run errands later. Period.

Ah now this is such overreaction. The dog's life?? The dog will be fine for a few minutes! Especially in mild weather.

Oops sorry Sam Champion. I didn't realize you were a meteorologist who knew what the weather was in every part of the world. Dogs should still not be left in cars. If you do it when it's "mild" out and get used to doing it then one day you'll do it when it's hot and your dog might get heat stroke. It's happened to two of my friends so don't call it an overreaction. I hope that you never have to lose a beloved furry family member in that way

Dude, the reason he left the car running was so that the a/c would remain on and keep his dog cool. No danger to the dogs life here other than the fact that he somehow got the car to roll into traffic

He's the meteorologist but you just instantly assumed it was a hot day... Guess that makes you psychic since you also seem to know what they were picking up, where they live and how much gas they were gonna use. It was 5 minutes he obviously said the car was on as in the A/C is running. Also most thieves will avoid places with dogs, so actually the "someone just walk up and take it" option is drastically diminished.

What happens if you're moving cross country and need to get out to get gas or take a bathroom break? Do you drive the dog home first? Wait a sec...ya, doesn't work. My dogs love car rides. I'm lucky they are small and I have a booster seat in the back that I can lock them to, (even if mine were big I'd get them seatbelts, but that's my kind of paranoid) when I do leave them in the car, I takes keys out but turn my car on with the auto start to turn on the heater/ac depending on the time of year. So no, OP does not deserve it for leaving the dog in the car, nor for leaving the car running. It was an unfortunate event that they could not have imagined. I am sure more precautions will be taken in the future.

#55, really? First of all, there's nothing wrong with leaving your dog in the car when it's mild out. You claim that this should be avoided because you'll "get used to it" and then leave your dog in the car when it's hot out. That makes zero sense. There's a big difference between cool, mild weather and scorching summer weather. A lot of times, in the fall, I'll sit in my car and eat when I'm on my lunch break. That doesn't mean I'm going to sit in my car and eat in the summer, when the heat is so bad I could become sick just by being in my hot car for more than fifteen minutes. Just because I "got used to" eating lunch in my car in the fall doesn't mean I'm going to start doing it in the summer, too. It's the same with my dog. People like you who use the "slippery slope" argument always make yourselves sound like idiots. I know the temperature limits that my dog can and cannot handle. Don't assume that I'm going to leave him in a hot car just because I'll leave him in a cool car. Do you think I'm a mindless zombie? Like, you really think that I'm going to get so "used to" him being in the car that I'll conveniently forget how hot it gets in the summer and just leave him there year-round? You're an idiot if you believe that. I care greatly about my dog: the temperature outside WILL ALWAYS matter when I'm deciding whether or not to leave him in the car. Get over yourself. A dog can sit in a car for five minutes, especially if the ******* A/C is on. You ARE overreacting.

Dogs (and babies) left in cars have been making the news just about every summer. Where have you been? Even after just 5 minutes a car can get hot enough that the dog can die. And no one can honestly know how long they'll be in a store. Leaving the car on was ok but unless it could be locked it was still not a good idea (theft obviously).