It’s hot out and summer hasn’t hit yet. Leaving pets in hot cars is a disaster waiting to happen. The AVMA reports that temperatures inside a parked car can rise 20 degrees in only 10 minutes. Not rescuing a dog experiencing discomfort inside a parked car prompted KUSA anchor Kyle Clark to issue an apology – to the dog.
Source: Huffington Post, June 11, 2016, KUSA, June 10, 2016.
I thought about putting a rock through someone’s car window today,” Kyle Clark of 9News said, describing finding a dog inside a parked car outside a frozen yogurt shop. The dog was crying in the head so loudly, Clark said, that he could hear it across the parking lot.
INSIGHTS: It’s seldom intentional, but inattentiveness can cause heat stress and even death in pets left in cars. Rolling the windows partially down doesn’t make temperatures bearable, either. Plus, it’s illegal in many states to leave pets in parked cars. Be active. Report any pet left in a locked car to police immediately. This Michigan State University listing of state laws that protect animals left in parked vehicles may come in handy.