Summertime means rising temperatures, and the weather report says we’re in for record temps today so I thought that I would share this important reminder to please leave pets at home where it’s cool and SAFE!
Even a little heat outside a car can make it VERY hot inside, and many people don’t realize just how hot it can get inside a parked car. For example, on a 78 degree day, temperatures inside a car parked in the shade can exceed 90 degrees, and if a car is parked in the sun, the heat can hit a scorching 160 degrees! Since animals are not able to sweat like humans do, it only takes minutes for a pet left in a vehicle on a warm day to succumb to heatstroke and suffocation.
Dogs cool themselves by panting and sweating through their paws, and within minutes their body temperature can climb from a normal 102.5 to deadly levels of 107-108 degrees. These deadly temperatures can damage their nervous and cardiovascular systems, and often leave pets comatose, dehydrated and at risk of becoming permanently impaired or succumbing to death!
Many think that rolling down a window helps, but think again! It really only helps if it is rolled down far enough for a pet to escape, and then a pet risks further danger by possibly becoming injured during the process of trying to escape and then finding themselves loose and alone on the streets!
Bottom line…it’s dangerous and deadly to leave a dog in a hot car – even for “just a minute.” Heat + pets left in cars = Death Traps!
I’ll take cool grass, and the shade of my favorite apple tree over a hot car any day!
