A Windsor woman plans to hold the mayor's feet to the fire on a promise to bring in a bylaw that would fine those who leave their pets in a hot vehicle.
Rose Owens of Pet Patrol is organizing a second protest at Windsor City Hall Monday night. It starts at 5 p.m.
This will be the second protest for Owens. Last August, she organized a demonstration demanding financial penalties.
"He promised that we would have something in place by this spring," she said. "Well, spring is gone, and now we have summer, and it's a deadly hot summer. The calls are still coming in."
Since starting the volunteer-run organization in 2016, Owens says she has responded to hundreds of calls in Windsor-Essex. On average, she said she gets up to 15 calls a week.
The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' website said anyone who leaves a pet unattended in a vehicle could be charged under the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act or the Criminal Code of Canada. However, Owens said last summer she has never heard of anyone locally being arrested or charged.
She points to the death of a family dog earlier this month in Simcoe. The dog had been left behind in a vehicle while its owner ran errands on a day where the temperature hit 32 C.
The Ontario Provincial Police were called to investigate and had anticipated charges. It said a vehicle parked in the sun could reach an internal temperature of 71 C.
Those going to the protest are asked to bring a mask and adhere to social distancing.
