by Suzyn Barron, President of Warwick Valley Humane Society, Inc.
Did you know that when the temperature outside is cloudy and in the low seventies the temperature in your closed car can jump to 100 degrees in only 30 minutes? Imagine just how quickly that vehicle can exceed to over 120 degrees on a near 90 degree day in the shade! Despite all of the warnings, people still leave the small children and pets unattended in these situations. The outcomes can be tragic, yet it still happens. Even if the windows are “cracked”, the temperature inside can and does escalate to dangerous levels. Leaving the car running with the air conditioning on is no guarantee either. A dog can easily hit the on/off button of either the vehicle or the air conditioning or there is always the possibility of a mal- function causing it to shut off. Why take the chance?
A few minutes running into a store can turn into several minutes due an unexpected delay.
And minutes is all it takes to turn up the heat for the one waiting in the car. Remember, children and animals cannot open windows or doors to let the air in. And dogs do not sweat like people. They pant to try and cool down but that’s impossible if there’s no air.
Because of the high incidence of these situations happening, New York State enacted Agriculture and Markets Law in Article 26, section 353 (d) which prohibits CONFINEMENT OF COMPANION ANIMALS IN VEHICLES: EXTREME TEMPERATURES: “ A person shall not confine a companion animal in a motor vehicle in extreme heat or cold without proper ventilation or other protection from such extreme temperatures where such confinement places the companion animal in imminent danger of death or serious physical injury due to exposure to such extreme heat or cold.” However, it doesn’t have to be extreme heat or cold outside for the internal temperature of a vehicle to reach an extreme level with each passing minute.
Very recently Animal Control was notified of a dog in distress in a closed vehicle. Upon arrival the vehicle was surrounded by a group of concerned people which caught the attention of the dog owner who was transacting business at a local café. The police, animal control and the owner all arrived at the same time and the dog was immediately removed but clearly suffering from hyperthermia. The dog was rushed to a nearby veterinary hospital who triaged the pet with fluids and cooling blankets before being transferred to a major veterinary hospital. The dog had a couple of seizures during transport. Because hyperthermia can cause other complications, he was admitted on a 72 watch and given a 50/50 chance. The owner was clearly upset with him/herself for endangering the dog’s wellbeing. Fortunately, in this instance, the dog did survive. We hope lessons learned for the dog owner, witnesses and readers of this column. And please, spread the word: leave your pets home and not in vehicles with windows closed or even cracked! Is it not better to be safe than sorry?
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