‘Road Rage’ Dog Honking SUV Horn Goes Viral [Video]

What’s so annoying that we even tend to block it out in today’s noisy world? A car horn blasting, seemingly at nothing. A bulldog left in an SUV apparently was not too fond of being left alone — especially with the windows up in Eureka, California, according to Poems United. He made his plight known by blaring a car horn intermittedly for minutes, off and on — becoming known as the “angry dog” or “road rage dog.”

Someone videotaped the dog, posted it to the internet, and another internet star was born when the video went viral. You can see the videotape here. According to Mashable, there was no evidence whether the pup got its owner’s attention. Of course, the owners might have been surrounded by quite a crowd at their SUV when they returned, as the blaring horn drew a lot of people.

Although the pup seemed to be a “mad dog,” he may have had reason to be. Even during a seemingly normal day with mild temperatures, the heat inside the car can go up excessively, even within minutes. And breeds with short muzzles, the brachycephalic breeds, are more prone to overheating. Many people on the numerous internet sites that featured the noisy dog were outraged that he was left in a potentially hot car, which could be fatal if the temperature rose to dangerous levels. One comment, for example, on a site called the Lost Coast Outpost that featured the video of the dog, was worried that the dog may overheat in a matter of minutes with the windows up.

“Bulldogs, with their short snouts, are already prone to overheating and breathing problems. The temperature inside a car can easily climb 20 degrees in ten minutes, which might not sound like much, but again, for a brachycephalic bred [sic] like a bulldog, could be very problematic, especially if the owner continued to be delayed.

Another commenter on Mashable indicated that they had turned someone in to the police when they saw dogs locked in a car on a hot day, stating the following.

“And yes- it was over 90 degrees, when I turned somebody into the police for having dogs locked in a car for over an hour by my clock. I went to class, came out the the dogs were really distressed. Others decided to stop and affirm this.”

It’s not clear if any of the windows in the SUV were opened or what the temperature was during the time the dog was alone in the vehicle or if the sun was out. That is, it’s not clear whether the dog was in any real danger.

Some other commenters just thought the video was amusing and didn’t believe that the bulldog was in any danger. We’ve all seen the funny pictures and videos of “dog shaming” on YouTube and throughout the internet, on Facebook and the like.

What do you think of the potential “owner shaming” that this video presents? Do you think dogs should be left alone in vehicles? What do you think is the temperature limit that’s safe for a dog to be left alone? If you saw a dog who was left in a hot car, in obvious distress, would you call the authorities or what would you do?

Many people take their dogs with them to socialize the dogs and just because they appreciate their company. After all, the saying is that dogs are man’s best friend. Now, a new study by the University of Arizona shows that we may even receive more benefits than we thought from dogs, according to an article in the Inquisitr. It was found that doggy kisses on a human mouth may offer health benefits. The scientists involved in the study believe that canines might offer probiotic benefits to people that are equal in health to a cup of yogurt or taking a probiotic supplement.

[Photo Courtesy Deepak Varma, video Courtesy YouTube]