Leaving your dog in the car even just for ten minutes can have life-threatening consequences that include heat stroke and even death. Sadly most owners do not know this and that is the reason for so many deaths of animals in cars, and as ALDF (animal legal defense fund) says:
‘Even on a day when it’s 70 degrees outside, the temperature inside a car with all the windows closed can hit 90 degrees in just 10 minutes. On a hot day, the temperature inside a closed car can shoot as high as 116 degrees in the same amount of time.’
This is a problem that is easily solvable but is not communicated enough to animal owners. Most of the time the owner does not want to hurt the animal or put it in a risky situation, but they just don’t know that it gets so hot in the car. So, if you see someone leave their pet in a car, tell them that unfortunately, the temperature inside the car can skyrocket fast. Cracking a window sadly doesn’t eliminate the risk of heatstroke or even death.
But how can you help? It depends on the state but usually, some laws tell you what to do if you see a dog in a hot car. In Wisconsin, Florida, Ohio, and Tennessee there are “good samaritan laws” that allow anybody to break into a car to save an animal. In Arizona, California, Delaware, Oregon, Illinois, Maine, Nevada, New York, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Maryland, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Minnesota, Vermont, and Washington only law enforcement and humane officers can break in to save the animal, so if you see any animal in a car, call 911 immediately. In New Jersey and West Virginia, it is illegal to have an animal in a hot car, no one can break into a vehicle to save them.
* This information was reported by ALDF in 2016 and may no longer be valid.
So to wrap it all up, don’t leave any animal in the car even with the windows cracked open and if you do see an animal in a hot car, call 911 immediately.
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