Gone in 15 minutes…

The other day I stopped at the bank, and saw something that pisses me off everytime I witness it. The car I parked next to had a dog inside ~ shut up in a sweltering hot car, windows cracked merely inches. The poor thing had to be miserable.

I waited… 5 minutes, 10, 15… almost 20 minutes later the car’s owner came out of the bank. Being the rational woman I am, I had a couple of words for her – these included ‘cruel,’ ‘death,’ ‘what were you thinking?’

Of course she got all defensive on me, telling me ’I was only inside a couple minutes.’ She didn’t believed me when I told her she was inside for at least 20. I don’t know if I accomplished more than just making her mad, but hopefully she went home and thought about how close her pet was to suffering real harm. (Yeah, who am I kidding?)

It’s summer time. People are traveling more (despite the outrageous gas prices), families are taking day trips near home, and many of these trips include the family dog. I see more and more people, and not just tourists, coming to our local malls with their pets. Drives me nuts, but at least they aren’t leaving them locked up in heatstroke ovens in the parking lot.

There have been many trips we’ve made with our dogs – driving long hours with a Lab chin on our shoulder, or tail thumping against the back of the seat.  We would make more stops that usual to let the Girls out to walk or drink some water. One thing we have never done is leave them alone in the car while we went somewhere else – not to eat, not to check out that cool mall, not to hit the grocery store.

15 minutes…

… the time it takes for the temperature inside a closed car to rise to the point that it is fatal to a dog. If temps are 78 degrees outside, the inside temperatures can be closer to 90 or 100. Perhaps even higher if the car is parked in direct sun.

… the time it takes for a dog’s body temperature to reach dangerous levels, leaving her at risk for damage to her nervous and cardiovascular systems.

Cracking a window or leaving bowls of water in the car isn’t enough. Temperatures still rise to potentially fatal levels in an astonishingly short amount of time. Leave the air conditioner running? Not a good idea… at a certain point all it does is circulate hot air, and it just makes matters worse.

Dogs don’t sweat like humans do. To cool their bodies they pant and sweat through their paws. If they’re breathing in hot air they can’t do that, and can suffer heatstroke, coma, permenant brain damage, and possible death.

If it’s not enough to simply save the life of a beloved family pet, realize that in most states, endangering an animal this way is a first degree misdemeanor. In Florida, leaving a pet unattended in a hot car can be considered cruelty to animals and is punishable by a fine of $5,000 to $10,000. Similar laws can be found in other states.

Just for giggles, put on long pants and a heavy coat or sweater, then jump into your car. If it’s a dark colored car, all the better. Park in an open lot, preferably during the hottest part of the day, under a cloudless sky. Turn off your car and only crack one window an inch, two at the most. Then just sit there… for 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or longer.

You wouldn’t leave your child alone in a hot car, don’t leave your pets.