Wal-Mart to post signs warning customers not to leave pets in hot cars

TORONTO – Giant retailer Wal-Mart will post signs in stores across Canada warning people about the dangers of leaving pets in hot cars.

The initiative follows the firing of an employee in Kemptville, Ont., south of Ottawa, who says she was let go after confronting a customer who had left his dog in a car amid sweltering temperatures.

A statement from Wal-Mart says the employee wasn’t fired for trying to help a dog in a car, but didn’t offer any further explanation due to “privacy reasons.”

Wal-Mart says it has a long-standing protocol that tells employees to notify authorities if an animal is in distress or at risk.

The Kemptville incident followed the death of a Chocolate Labrador mix who had been left in a car parked at Vaughan Mills shopping centre north of Toronto in June.

Authorities also issued warnings not to leave children unattended in vehicles aftera boy in Milton, Ont., and a girl in Edmonton died this summer after being left in hot cars for extended periods of time.