Like This Man Did !
I am always sickened by stories of dogs suffering from and
even losing their life to heat stroke.
It is such an easy problem to avoid with simple precautions,
should never happen, and when it does, we call the negligence
attached to it is nothing less than extreme animal cruelty.
The ASPCA recently called attention this problem in a piece
titled:
“Cruelty Alert: Pets Suffering from Heat stroke in Parked
Cars”
“…a Bronx, NY, man left his Maltese in his van–with the windows
cracked–while he went for a swim at a state park. The temperature
inside the van climbed to 140 degrees and despite intervention by
park police, the dog didn’t survive.
Even on a relatively mild 85-degree day, it takes only 10 minutes
for the interior of a car to reach 102 degrees–and within 30
minutes, the inside of the car can be a staggering 120 degrees.
Leaving windows open a few inches does not help. Furthermore, when
it comes to the body’s ability to cool itself, canine physiology is
vastly different from ours. While humans have sweat glands all over
our bodies that help regulate our body heat, dogs cool down mostly
by panting, which is much less efficient than sweating. In only a
short amount of time, a dog with a high body temperature can suffer
critical damage to his nervous system, heart, liver and brain.”
No dog should ever suffer the painful excruciating death caused by
heatstroke. Please take precautions and if you ever see any dog or
pet in a car unattended on a hot summer day, call the police
immediately. They can open the door and help the trapped dog.
You may just save a life!