A photo recently went viral on social media which showed a truck with a caged dog in the back. This took place during one of the hottest days of the year in Dallas – during the blazing heat. Unsurprisingly, people reacted with disgust to this image, and it’s entirely possible that the poor dog could have even died due to the extreme weather at the time.

Although the truck plate was from Arkansas, this took place in Dallas. The original poster of the image captioned it by saying this: “It’s completely unacceptable. I question leaving my dog in the car when it’s only 70! If I can’t take him inside a building that will allow dogs, I don’t take him at all. It’s called proper planning. Some idiots can’t think.”

And this advice seems very fair and appropriate. If the weather is sweltering, then keep your dog at home near water and aircon. As a dog owner, this is a very irresponsible act and shows a lack of intelligence or empathy for the dog.

Some even went as far as to claim that this was a criminal act. Interestingly, if you leave your pet in a hot or cold vehicle for an extended amount of time in Texas, it is considered a crime. However, technically the dog isn’t in a car – and it would be difficult to tell how long the dog was caged for.

As a result, trying to prosecute the driver would prove fruitless in the eyes of the law. Of course, this doesn’t mean that it’s not immoral or irresponsible. It goes without saying that if you own pets in the Texan heat, make sure you care for their needs as this is the right thing to do.