"Dog is comfortable" sticker decoy for safety

[Svenn]

Did a search of the forum and didn't see if anyone's talked about this before, but I saw this sticker for sale and seems like a good break-in deterrent?  Obviously would only work if part of your interior is obscured or windows are blacked out

 

[poncho62]

Or, a big ass dog in there

Maybe a recording of a barking dog.

 

[CautionToTheWind]

^^^ I had thought of a recorded barker.

 

[user 423]

If it's hot out and the van wasn't running, even the dumbest passerby would wonder how it could be temperature controlled. Even a Prius would make some noise.

Am I missing something?

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I've got mixed feelings about this.  A lot of places have laws on the books about leaving an animal in a car unintended.  If the car isn't running, they may think it stalled or died, and the animal is in danger.  You are liable to come back and find a cop waiting for you, or possibly even a broken window if there IS a recording of a barking dog as some have suggested.  If they wind up calling for animal control and break a window and then find nothing, it may piss them off enough to find something to charge you with, just for wasting their time and resources.

 

[SoulRaven]

 

[user 423]

Trouble with that is in many places it's illegal to leave your vehicle running unattended.

Cops feel it invites thefts. You would have to explain to them that it's a Chow and that wouldn't happen...

 

[CautionToTheWind]

Why is life so complicated?  :-/

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

In town a sticker might work for you or against you.  Depends on how aggressive the animal control people are.

As for busybodies worried about my dog I have a sign on my dash:

Problem with my dog?
Please call XXX-XXX-XXXX

Plus I have water for him visible, a visible thermometer and a fan running.  Most animal welfare ordinances require trying to contact the owner before breaking in to rescue a distressed animal.  For places where it is illegal to leave a dog unattended in a vehicle (Tucson, AZ being one), I simply don't go there.

When out in the boondocks, a recording of a vicious dog triggered by a motion sensor, along with visible evidence of a large dog (big water bowl, hefty rope or chain, chewed up large bone or rawhide) would be a deterrent if one cannot see inside the vehicle.

 -- Spiff

 

[user 423]

As for busybodies worried about my dog I have a sign on my dash:

Problem with my dog?
Please call XXX-XXX-XXXX

Plus I have water for him visible, a visible thermometer and a fan running.  

 -- Spiff

I'll have to remember that tip should I fall in love at the pound again.

 

[MrNoodly]

However, there are dog thieves.

 

[TrainChaser]

There have been multiple cases of police officers leaving their patrol car running with the A/C on, and when they return hours later, the car is still running, the A/C is NOT running, and the dog is dead.

What happened, and why couldn't the same thing happen to us?

 

[Ballenxj]

There have been multiple cases of police officers leaving their patrol car running with the A/C on, and when they return hours later, the car is still running, the A/C is NOT running, and the dog is dead.

First I've heard of it.

 

[user 423]

I remember reading of one instance, forget where. The article also said that it does happen enough that the PDs want the cop car outfitters to develop fail-safe systems and/or alarms.

 

[Svenn]

Yeah the more I think about the more implausible it sounds, it could just invite more unwanted knocks by people checking to see if the 'dog' is ok.

The barking dog alarm doesn't work because those same people or the cops might break a window if it's hot out.

Just a plain "Rottweiler Society" or something sticker might be better. I've heard NRA guys say their sticker encourages break in, so maybe an expensive dog breed like that isn't good.

A motion sensor that flashes the lights a couple times or lightly hits the horn when someone is within a few inches is probably best- means the owner could be looking at the thief and just lock it from the fob.

 

[mayble]

I've heard NRA guys say their sticker encourages break in, so maybe an expensive dog breed like that isn't good.  

The obvious difference here is that a gun isn't likely to shoot you if its owner isn't around.

 

[Weight]

Another thread about laws against vicious dogs?

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I've heard NRA guys say their sticker encourages break in, so maybe an expensive dog breed like that isn't good.  

Almost anything a thief takes from you can only be fenced for pennies on the dollar.  The handful of exceptions are things like gold coins, prescription narcotics, and guns.

Guns, in fact, can often be sold for MORE than their retail value.

So an NRA sticker = "Really, Really valuable stuff here!" sign.

 

[slynne]

My town recently got a police dog. I was at a demonstration of it and the police officer said that they have AC in the car but also a backup. If the A/C fails, the car first starts honking and then all the windows roll down and then sometime after that if the temperature in the car hasn’t gone down enough, the doors actually open so the dog can get out of the car. That eased my mind a bit.

 

[Gideon33w]

I think all stickers are a bad idea. They draw attention. People that don't care wont notice but those aren't the ones to worry about. I don't want my van to draw attention from anyone or give any indication of anything.

People love their gun stickers down here. I love guns. But the idea of putting one on the van where someone might assume a free gun is only one broken window and a few seconds away ... Yeah ...

A vague indication that you might have a dog at in the vehicle at times probably wont do anything to deter a break in since a criminal would test first. On the flip side, you draw attention to the vehicle from every pet lover, police officer, etc.

The only anything on my van is my velco ACU name tape and "US Army" tape from one of my old uniforms. It's on the dash by the vin (where a cop looks should you get pulled over). Even that I'm debating ditching and just going with a Veteran plate. Though, I intentionally dodge the disabled vet plate.