Cracking the Windows Won't Help

It's July, it's hot, and most people are out and about. It's important to stay hydrated, wear your sunscreen, and get into the A/C if you're feeling woozy. It's fun taking your dog for a ride or even along on your vacation. However, when you're doing your daily errands and taking Fido and Spot along with you, you must not leave your dogs in an un-airconditioned car. The heat can kill them.

Several studies have been done about the temperature inside a parked car. (San Francisco State University / Journal of the Louisiana State Medical Society / Stanford University) They all say that a car can heat up to 45 Fahrenheit degrees hotter than the temperature outside, in 60 minutes. On a 72 degree day, that's equal to 117 degrees. Even in just 10 minutes, the temperature can rise by 2 degrees per minute when you first close up the car. It becomes extremely uncomfortable to breathe, the body heats up, and brain damage and death can be only a few minutes away. Cracking the windows, even all 4 windows, will cool the vehicle down by only 4-6 degrees, which is really nothing when you're baking inside a 110 degree box.

The most important thing is to be careful. It's a serious issue that can be remedied. When you want to bring your dog with you, bring another person too so they can sit in the air conditioned car with your pet, or they could walk the dog while you are running errands. If you can't do that, leave your pet at home.

We encourage everyone to take the utmost care, and if you see a pet in a closed car on a hot day, call the police. It's just like leaving a baby unattended. Check out this website too: MyDogIsCool.com. It has some great flyers for windshields where you see a pet in the car, and a tool that will help you determine if it's too hot to leave your pet in the car. Be careful and safe this summer!