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Canine Companion: Don’t Leave Your Dog Alone In Car On Hot Day

Hey, guys. Another week has gone by. Lately, I feel as if time is going by too quickly. I wake up and it seems like within minutes, it’s time to go to bed.

Anyway, lets get on topic. This week I want to talk to you about something I know you have heard about a million times. Why have you heard about it over and over? Well, because it’s important and it’s easy to forget about in our busy lives — leaving your dog in a hot car.

Every year, there are a significant number of dogs who overheat and pass away in a hot car. When the outside temperature is 70 degrees, a car can heat up to 89 degrees in just 10 minutes, and to 104 in 30 minutes. At 80 degrees outside, you’re looking at 99 degrees inside a vehicle in 10 minutes and 114 in 30 minutes.

Even if you leave your window cracked, it’s not enough. There are studies that have proven leaving the windows cracked only affects temperature a minimal amount. This means your vehicle is still going to get hot quick — too hot for your dog to endure for any amount of time.

Even if you’re only going to be a few minutes, as said previously, on a 70 degree day your car heats up to 89 degrees in only 10 minutes. Some may think, “I’m only running into the store to grab a thing or two.” 10 minutes isn’t long and it’s likely you’ll be in there at least that long.

The next misconception is if you leave water in your car, your dog will be fine even with the heat rising. Although the water does help, it still won’t prevent heatstroke.

Let’s switch the cards up a bit now. What if you see a dog in someone else’s parked car? There are “Good Samaritan” laws which allow anybody to rescue an animal from a vehicle following a call to 911. States which have Good Samaritan laws include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

In New York State, only a police officer can break into a car to rescue a dog. Even though we don’t have the Good Samaritan law yet, if you see a dog in distress, be sure to call 911 immediately. Then, take a photo of the car and license plate on your phone, along with the dog inside.

If you are near a store, request the manager to page the car’s owner (using the make, model, and color of the car) to alert them their dog is in distress. Then, wait for the car’s owner to arrive. Let them know the dangers of leaving their dog in the car even on a 70-degree day.

Before I end this article, I want to explain heatstroke a little bit so you know what it looks like.

Dogs cool down by panting. They don’t sweat like we do. They do have some sweat glands in their paw pads but they aren’t significant enough to reduce your dog’s heat exhaustion. If your dog isn’t able to cool herself down by panting, her body temperature begins to rise (hence the importance of understanding not to allow your dog to sit in a car even on a warm day).

Dogs who are experiencing a heatstroke may pant excessively and/or become lethargic (weak/unable to move). You may also notice vomiting, diarrhea, excessive drooling, and loss of consciousness.

There are some dogs who are more prone than others to heatstroke. Those dogs are brachycephalic which essentially means they have a short snout. Examples include pugs, bulldogs, boston terriers, etc.

To add, on a hot day, don’t forget your dog’s adorable paw pads. They can’t handle hot asphalt just like our feet can’t. If it’s 86 degrees outside, which is common for the summer season, asphalt can get up to 135 degrees. That’s hot enough to cook an egg within five minutes. Imagine our dog’s poor feet on that.

Walking your dog on hot asphalt can cause terrible burns, scarring, and permanent damage to your dog’s feet within one minute of contact in high temperatures (and hot paws also contribute to heat stroke).

The bottom line is don’t leave your dog in the car alone even on a day you consider just to be ‘warm.’

That’s all I have for you today. I hope all of you have a fantastic weekend.

Until next time.

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