Road trip with dogs: how do I leave car parked and running (for A/C in hot weather) while also locking the doors? I have the second key, somewhere - will the doors lock from the outside while a key is in the ignition and the engine is running? Any solution welcome - thanks!
What you do is find your second key, make sure it works as it should then test what you want to do in your driveway ( without the dogs in it ) and you will have your answer.
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That’s how i do it in the winter to melt the snow and ice off the windows, has worked on all the cars I have owned.
Where I live it’s illegal to lock any animal in a car. We’ve had many animals suffocate, and someone outside cannot tell whether the air is on or not. Last week a pedestrian broke a car window after seeing a dog locked up.
Yes, this is the law that pertains over most of the length of our road trip: This California statute provides that no person shall leave or confine an animal in any unattended motor vehicle under conditions that endanger the health or well-being of an animal due to heat, cold, lack of adequate ventilation, or lack of food or water, or other circumstances that could reasonably be expected to cause suffering, disability, or death to the animal. In 2016, rescue provisions were added that allows a person to remove an animal in danger from a vehicle provided he or she meets several criteria listed in the law.
My dog is a competitive athlete, we have a couple competitions in August that require long-distance trips. We’ve made the 10-11 hour trip a couple of times before and I have had to take lightning-quick nature breaks because we’re driving through high desert in extreme heat. So that’s why I am looking for a better option. Most of my fellow roadtrippers are able to leave the can and AC running and lock the car from the outside, I just wasn’t sure if the Jetta had some odd security measure that prevented me from doing that. I’ve found my second key AND valet key and I’m going to experiment sans dogs to make sure it will work. And I’ll print up a few cards for the windows (which are tinted) to make sure any observers know that the AC is on and the dogs are as cool as can be. Thanks!