A poodle was reportedly left in a car parked at the basement of Oxley Tower for an extended period.

Worried for the animal's well-being, one passerby told Mothership that they'd accompanied the dog for about 40 minutes before its human showed up.

Dog was panting

According to the witness, she chanced upon the alarming sight on Jan. 4, 2024 at around 10am.

The car park was hot and reeked of petrol, she said, recounting that the vehicle was "not running at all".

Videos taken by the witness showed the dog, clad in diapers, roaming freely about the front seats of the car.

The poodle seemed calm at first, but started "panting quite badly" after about 15 minutes.

A window in the backseat was left open, but the witness said the gap was "less than 10cm".

Driver returned after at least 40 minutes

The passerby and her friend remained in their car in the adjacent parking lot to watch over the lone dog.

From there, it took about 40 minutes for the driver to appear, with a 7/11 sandwich and drink in tow.

"A trip to 7/11 — right on top of the car park — wouldn’t have taken so long," she remarked.

She noted that the driver "didn’t seem to be in any hurry, nor give the dog attention before he drove off".

"He just started the car and left," she said.

She said that she had alerted authorities about the case, but was unsure if anything had been done.

Don't leave pets unattended in vehicles

In response to Mothership's queries, the executive director of SPCA Aarthi Sankar stated that they are appealing to anyone with credible information about the driver's identity to come forward and contact them at [email protected].

Pet guardians are advised never to leave their animals unattended in stationary vehicles, even with the windows partially open.

"In Singapore’s hot and humid weather, a stationary vehicle can transform into an oven as the temperature rises rapidly," Sankar stated.

With an ambient temperature averaging 31°C to 32°C, the interior of a car can climb up to 43°C within just 10 minutes.

Coupled with the lack of adequate airflow, an animal will be stressed and may be panting, overheating and dehydrated within minutes.

"Dogs, for instance, rely on panting to dispel heat. However, if the humidity levels are too high, they struggle to cool themselves, and their body temperature may rise steeply to dangerous levels, potentially resulting in heatstroke and even fatality."

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