You Can Be Fined $500 For Leaving Your Dog In A Hot Car In Surrey

Leaving your dog in a hot car in Surrey could cost you $500.

Surrey city council has voted to amend the city's dog responsibility bylaw so that enforcement officers can issue tickets to people who leave their pets in warm cars, or unleashed in the back of pickup trucks.

Bylaw enforcement officers cannot remove an animal from a hot vehicle — this must be done by the BC SPCA or the RCMP — so the change gives them some power to address the issue, said a city press release Wednesday.

“Temperatures in vehicles can rise to dangerous levels very rapidly in the summer season, posing a serious risk to dogs that may be in them," Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts said in the release. "We want to encourage pet owners to be mindful of this while enjoying the warm summer season with their pets in Surrey."

The dog responsibility bylaw includes requirements such as:

Adequate ventilation must exist anywhere a dog is confined, such as in a vehicle.
Dogs must be transported in a safe manner which prevents their injury.
Dogs cannot be tied up wearing a choke collar.
Dogs cannot spend more than four hours per 24 hour period tethered.

Last month, six dogs who were originally reported stolen by their walker in Langley were later discovered to have died of heat stroke from sitting for too long in a hot truck.