Here Comes the Sun – Dogs Die in Hot Cars!
It takes only a matter of minutes for you to lose your loving companion when left in the oven that could be your car! The sun is out and it is beautiful, but the sun beating down on a parked vehicle with a dog trapped inside is likely to end in a horrendous death. Depending upon the outside temperature it could take a matter of minutes before the inside of the vehicle is so hot that a dog will die an agonising and painful death.
“Even on a 78-degree day, the temperature inside a parked car can quickly soar to as high as 120 degrees. Shock sets in as the dog’s internal temperature rises, and death can occur in just 15 minutes. It’s a gruesome, terrifying way to die—dogs struggle to escape the vehicle, often salivating heavily, losing control of their bladder and bowels, and clawing the car windows so violently that their paws become bloodied.” (PETA, 2013)
Now that the summer has arrived it is fitting that we remind ourselves of how dangerous the sun can be to our faithful companions. There is no sense in taking chances, a window left open sufficiently to allow some air circulation will not save your dog if the temperature soars, dogs can still die with the window open. Each summer people take risks believing that their dog will be safe only for the unthinkable to happen. The RSPCA report that they receive over 6000 calls a year concerning distressed dogs left in cars.
In 2011 the Dogs Today magazine launched a “Don’t Cook Your Dog” campaign urging dog owners to join. The Way of the Dog would like to take the opportunity to remind people of this campaign but more importantly to remind people of the need to protect their dogs from the effects of the sun. A dog can start to suffer in as little as two minutes when trapped in a hot car; this can lead to damaged organs, brain damage, and death.
Protect your dog from the sun and do not leave it in the car on any occasion, there is no safe time limit, the only safe place is outside the car.
Attached are some interesting articles that relate to dogs being left to die in cars. There is also a poster attached that you can download and publicise courtesy of Dog’s Today magazine.
Related Articles:
http://www.dogstodaymagazine.co.uk/dontcookyourdog/
http://www.peta.org/blog/spread-word-dogs-die-hot-cars/
http://www.rspca.org.uk/allaboutanimals/pets/dogs/health/dogsinhotcars
