'Sickening': Pet owner called out for leaving dog dangling on leash and struggling to breathe at Ikea car park

An Ikea shopper was greeted with a distressing sight while leaving the store's car park on Sunday (May 26) — a black dog that was apparently struggling to breathe while being leashed to a parked van. 

A video of the incident was posted on Sgfollowall's Instagram page on Monday. 

"He was barking to get people's attention, and the leash was too short so he had to stand on his two hind legs to get some air," wrote the shopper in the video. 

"Why bring your dog when you know Ikea is not pet-friendly?" the unnamed shopper questioned. 

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In the post's caption, the shopper said that they also reported the incident to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). 

The shopper said they eventually alerted Ikea staff to the incident.

According to the post, security staff eventually rescued the dog while another staff member tried to look for the owner. 

"While I want to give the owner the benefit of the doubt, the situation is totally unacceptable and poses a significant danger to the [dog]," wrote the shopper. 

The video attracted a slew of comments from angry netizens who described the van driver's action as "sickening". 

"What is this?? I feel so sorry for the dog to get such an owner [sic]," wrote one netizen. 

There were also some who speculated that the dog might have jumped out of the vehicle. 

In response to AsiaOne's queries, SPCA said they were alerted to an incident of a dog being tethered on a short leash at Ikea Alexandra car park on Sunday at about 3pm. 

"As the incident was first sighted at 1:30pm, the van had already departed before we could attend. The case has been escalated to the AVS for investigation," said SPCA's executive director Aarthi Sankar. 

The organisation also appealed to all pet owners to abide by the Code of Animal Welfare, which include best practices for tethering. 

"If tethering is needed, the equipment, area, and means of tethering should be safe and comfortable for the pet," said SPCA.

"In this case, a car park is neither safe nor comfortable due to the presence of moving vehicles and poor ventilation." 

ALSO READ: East Coast pet shop fires staff who caned dog; AVS investigating

claudiatan@asiaone.com