A News 2 viewer says she noticed a dog sitting in a car in Ridgeville, Thursday. When she called law enforcement, they told her they could not do anything about it.
“It’s definitely a problem people want to bring their pets along when they go shopping they don’t wanna leave them at home,” Aldwin Roman of the Charleston Animal Society said.
Aldwin Roman is the Senior Director of Anti-Cruelty with Charleston Animal Society. I asked him about dog we were shown by a concerned viewer.
“There’s not a lot in our laws, I think in Charleston County only North Charleston has something about confining animals in vehicles.”
In Berkeley County, there are no specific rules about animals in vehicles either. State statute says someone cannot knowingly harm their pets.
In the photo we were sent, you could see a fan inside the vehicle was on, the window was rolled down, and just outside there was a small generator that appears to be powering the fan.
Roman says the best solution is fairly simple.
“Leave your pet at home unless you’re taking it to go somewhere to the park to the beach but otherwise leave it at home.”
The state law is definitely left up to interpretation to some extent.
