WARNING: Distressing content
Shoppers have been left horrified after finding a dog hanging dead from a car.
A concerned local posted photos of the tragic incident on Wednesday after he found the dog hanging from its collar, still attached to the seatbelt at a northern New South Wales shopping centre.
The man labelled the owner a “scum bag” for leaving their dogs and a cat in the car.
“One of the dogs jumped out of the window and hung itself,” he said.
“For those asking the dog was already dead when I found it hanging, choker collar attached to the seatbelt, window down low enough for it to jump out.”
The man said he waited for the RSPCA and police to arrive at the Tweed Mall car park.
His post has been shared hundreds of times with people outraged over the behaviour.
“Busy shopping centre, how come nobody saw this little fella hanging out the window?” wrote one. “It would have been making an awful noise.”
Another wrote, “This is so heartbreaking. This infuriates me, why do people continue to do this?”
They called for the owner to get locked up or fined.
But many others came to the owner’s defence, saying mistakes happen and accidents can take place in minutes.
“That poor owner is now devastated at the death of their pooch,” said one woman.
“Suggesting that they find someone to sit with their pets — who would that be. A stranger?
“It’s a terrible situation but they obviously thought a car park was a better alternative for a toilet break than outside somewhere in the blazing sun.
“My heart goes out to the owner.”
NSW Police have not taken action because the circumstances did not indicate the dog was neglected.
Earlier this week RSPCA officers were horrified when they found a dead puppy entangled while its companion panted furiously in the heat in regional Queensland.
“Every year our inspectors are called to incidents where dogs have died or are near death because of the heat,” RSPCA Queensland spokesman Michael Beatty said.
“If it’s thirty degrees outside, the temperature inside a car can potentially rise to well over 40C in less than five minutes.”
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