Summer is such a wonderful time of the year when you can enjoy the beautiful weather with your family without a care. Please keep in mind the safety of your dog or dogs as well. Your pet does not need to accompany you for a “quick” shopping trip.
It is important to know that in summer a parked car can very quickly become deadly for your pet. At an outside temperature of 25°C, the inside temperature of a parked car can rise to between 38°C and 50°C. On a 32°C day, in less than 10 minutes the inside temperature of a parked car can actually reach up to 60°C.
Pain and suffering, brain damage, until heat stroke-induced suffocation and death occur – these are just a few tragic consequences if a pet stays for a short period inside a hot car.
The normal body temperature of a dog is about 38°C – 39°C, and this temperature can rise up to 41°C – 41.5°C without irreparable brain damage, beyond which there is no hope to save the beloved dog and we can lose him forever. Unfortunately, every year thousands of beloved pets, both dogs and cats, fall victim to or die due to hot weather related to poor owner decisions.
Do you think that an open window could be enough to keep your pet safe? We think it is not enough! Please reconsider this yourself! Dogs and cats cannot sweat like we humans do. Dogs cool themselves mainly by panting and through the pads of their feet, cats only through the pads on their feet.
You can learn what it feels like to be trapped in a hot locked car from an experiment by an American veterinarian. Dr. Ernie Ward sat for 30 minutes in a parked car in the summer heat with a thermometer on the passenger seat next to an open window and watched the mercury in the thermometer steadily climb. It reached 50°C and meanwhile Dr. Ward began to feel physically and mentally unwell, barely able to breathe, even though the window was down and he was sweating heavily. Dr. Ward was aware of what was happening. An animal, unaware of what is happening, will panic much faster in such an uncontrolled situation.
In the illustrative image below, you can see how quickly the temperature rises in a locked car:
How to prevent your pet’s suffering in a hot car
- Do not take your pet along while you run important errands. Of course, he would surely enjoy the drive, but then you would have to leave him in the car, which would be a torment even if you leave him in the locked car for just 15 minutes, it can already be deadly.
- If you do take your pet somewhere, bring him inside the building or store you are going to. Before leaving, ask whether pets are allowed inside the premises. If not, reconsider whether it is worth taking him with you.
- If you still take him with you, it is advisable to go with a friend whom you can trust to look after your dog while you take care of your important matters.
- Or find a dog boarding facility and leave your dog there in the meantime.
- Or simply leave him at home.
What to do if you see a pet suffering in a locked car
Life-saving measures to take
- If the dog desperately scratches the window and makes distressing sounds, these are already signs of heat stress or heatstroke. Additional signs include heavy panting, glazed eyes, rapid pulse, confusion, excessive drooling, vomiting, seizures, purpling of the tongue (except for breeds with naturally purple tongues).
- If authorities do not arrive for a long time to help, and it seems that the animal’s life is in immediate danger, quickly find 2 people who will witness that there was an immediate life-threatening situation. If you cannot help otherwise, you must break the vehicle’s window, then open the door so you can take the suffering animal out before it’s too late.
- As soon as you take the pet out of the car, take it immediately to a cool place, pour cold water over it, or immediately give it a cold water bath, making sure its head stays above the water.
- If help still hasn't arrived from the authorities, help by taking the animal to a veterinarian as soon as possible, so you might save its life. The longer the dog stays without veterinary care, the lower its chance of survival, so act fast and do not wait!
No animal deserves to suffer trapped in a big metal oven on wheels in scorching heat with no way to rescue itself. This is negligence and cruelty. Such a fate leads from incredible panic through agonizing pain to permanent brain damage or death!
Surely you wouldn’t want your beloved dog to experience this! Therefore never leave your dog in a closed, parked car in summer!
Please share this post with your friends and other dog lovers as it can be useful for them too! Thank you!
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More useful and valuable articles for dog lovers can be found on the author’s official website.
Find the official website of dog article writer and author Ildikó Vámosi:
Http://ildikovamosi.hu/
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