Do you remember I told you that I'd remind you often about how dangerous cars in summer can
be? If it is 70* outside, you shouldn't leave your pet in a car! In Chapel Hill and several other
places, that's the law.
In researching this article, I discovered a fun and informative website called,
MyDogIsCool.com. posted by United Animal Nation. It states, "The "dog days" of summer can
be dangerous for dogs — especially those dogs left inside hot cars. Every year, countless dogs
die after being locked in cars while their owners work, visit, shop, or run other errands. These
tragic deaths are entirely preventable." There are stickers and brochures that you can order to
place on windshields of cars with pets left in them. They are way better than the notes I write on
napkins or backs of cards to inform people of the dangers of the practice of leaving animals in
cars.
There is also a section which shows just how hot cars get. I am copying the chart here in case
you don't get a chance to connect up with the site. I hope you do, though.
MyDogIsCool.com states, "The study, conducted during a local heat wave, compared an outside
temperature of a shaded area with the inside of an automobile in three states: fully closed, with
four windows cracked, and with two windows cracked. Inside temperatures were measured with
an indoor/outdoor thermometer and an oven thermometer (both readings are given). All
temperatures use the Fahrenheit scale.
Day 1
|
|||
Outside Temperature
|
Inside Closed Automobile
|
||
Indoor/Outdoor
|
Oven Thermometer
|
||
9:00 am
|
82°
|
109°
|
----
|
9:30 am
|
87°
|
115°
|
----
|
10:00 am
|
91°
|
115°
|
----
|
10:30 am
|
94°
|
114°
|
115°
|
11:00 am
|
98°
|
114°
|
119°
|
11:30 am
|
100°
|
117°
|
124°
|
12:00 pm
|
101°
|
119°
|
127°
|
1:30 pm
|
112°
|
124°
|
130°
|
2:30 pm
|
125°
|
130+°
|
159°
|
4:00 pm
|
98°
|
110°
|
110°
|
Day 2
|
|||
Outside Temperature
|
Inside Auto - 4 Windows Cracked
|
||
Indoor/Outdoor
|
Oven Thermometer
|
||
9:15 am
|
84°
|
98°
|
98°
|
10:00 am
|
88°
|
103°
|
105°
|
10:30 am
|
90°
|
108°
|
108°
|
11:00 am
|
92°
|
109°
|
109°
|
12:00 pm
|
95°
|
113°
|
113°
|
1:00 pm
|
101°
|
114°
|
115°
|
2:00 pm
|
110°
|
123°
|
120°
|
3:40 pm
|
112°
|
129°
|
128°
|
4:00 pm
|
115°
|
132°
|
130°
|
Day 3
|
|||
Outside Temperature
|
Inside Auto - 2 Windows Cracked
|
||
Indoor/Outdoor
|
Oven Thermometer
|
||
8:30 am
|
72°
|
72°
|
72°
|
9:30 am
|
80°
|
95°
|
95°
|
12:00 pm
|
88°
|
105°
|
105°
|
1:50 pm
|
99°
|
109°
|
109°
|
| 2:30 pm | |||
So, is there anything else that a person can do to safeguard your beloved fur friends? I had wondered how I could make my truck safer for my dogs when I had to leave them for just a few minutes (never in hot weather and I mean - just a FEW minutes) during my travels. So, I thought that perhaps I could find a way to be able to keep the sliding back window open all the time. I went to the hardware store and purchased the metal "grill" that is put on the bottom of a screen door to keep the screen from being damaged. I figured out how to attach the grill to cover the window which opens to about two feet by sliding to the side, and it works!!! I figure out the wind direction and find a place that backs into the wind so that the breeze comes through the large opening. With the other windows open - more than just cracked but enough to keep the dogs in - and sun shades up, the truck cab stays cool for the few minutes that I have to hop out to pay for gas or other such things. Plus, I never leave the girls in the truck if there is danger of becoming too hot.
Maybe this idea will spark other ideas that you might have and you can share them with the rest of us. Please comment if you wish!
Remember, heat kills! Cars warm up VERY quickly. Leave pets at home whenever possible. They don't need to go everywhere with you every time you go out.
• San Francisco State University - April 2007 fact sheet utilizing data from a Golden Gate
Weather Services study
• Another study reprinted from the Journal of the Louisiana State Medical Society
• A study from Stanford University shows that even on comparatively cool days, such as
72 degrees, a car's internal temperature will rocket to16 degrees within 60 minutes. And
keeping the windows open a crack hardly slows the rise at all.
Please take action to save someone's pet. If you can't find the owner, call 911 and tell them what
is going on. Stay by the car to make sure the pet isn't in severe distress. If the pet is, do
something!
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