Even on a mild, 25-degree day, the temperature inside a car parked in the shade can soar to between 37 and 50 degrees in minutes, and on a 30-degree day, the temperature can reach 70 degrees in less than 10 minutes.

Leaving the windows cracked (or even halfway down) and/or leaving water in the vehicle will not keep animals comfortable or safe. With only hot air to breathe, dogs can succumb to heatstroke in as little as 15 minutes, resulting in brain damage or death.

Symptoms include restlessness, excessive thirst, heavy panting, lethargy, lack of appetite and coordination, dark tongue, and vomiting. Please, when it’s warm outside, leave animals at home.  If you see a dog left in a car, have the car's owner paged at nearby stores or call 000 immediately – the dog’s life depends on it.

Dear Jacinta: I hope you enjoyed your holidays. For some of us, travelling on V/Line, that unfortunately was not the case. I traveled down to Melbourne on Saturday, January 7, weekend just passed, on yet another road coach, (known to us ordinary folk as a bus!), full capacity of 50 passengers. This was due to yet more “track works”. There seems to have been enough “track works” over the past couple of years to entirely, replace the entire rail system, which on the surface might be easier and cheaper. That would also seem a wonderful time to replace them with tracks that our oh so wonderful new modern trains can actually run on at speeds they were designed to do.

There seems to be little point in ordering and building all of these supposedly wondrous and expensive new trains if they are not supported by workable infrastructure, whether they are built here for overseas owned corporations, or built in Timbuctoo.

As you may gather from above, I had the misfortune to return on a velocity (hah) (train carriage No 1134, photo can be supplied) departing Southern Cross Station at approximately 1.40pm. Upon departure, we were informed that we would be on restricted speed due to the tracks not being capable of handling the normal speed!

I could swear approximately 12 months ago, I sat in your Bendigo office with you, receiving assurances this should not be occurring again, it was being addressed. By which government, yours or the next? The one after that maybe? Why buy rolling stock the network can’t carry?

That same train was leaking water through the light fittings onto at least two rows of seats, several feet apart. On arrival at Southern Cross, I met my step daughter, who traveled from Warrnambool on the service that left about the middle of the day. Four out of the six carriages did not have their air conditioning working. It was a 39 degree day! Maybe we should just scrap passenger rail altogether, and shift to buses? They seem to be V/Line’s preferred default carrier. Whatever you do don’t let V/Line’s (non) planning department anywhere near them. It would seem they couldn’t run a model train set!  I realise it is far sexier to announce bright, shiny (expensive) new projects than adequately maintain existing stock. It is also a criminal waste of public monies. That seems to be coming more and more under the media’s attention these days. I would also like to point out at this stage that every contract let out (sublet) involves another business who needs to make a profit for their shareholders. Just saying. I am calling on you and the Premier to sack everyone in the “planning department” (*disdain) from the janitors up to and if necessary, your office. At the moment, this appears to be no better, (and sometimes not as good as), a third world (non) service.