Don’t bake your pets!
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- June
- 19
I’ve seen it too often and it’s heartbreaking every time—a pet owner runs into a store and leaves the animal (usually a dog) in the car alone on a hot day with the windows open a crack.
That crack—it does virtually nothing in warm temperatures. I even called the police last year on a car in the grocery store parking lot after finding a dog crying and breathing heavily in a car in more than 80-degree heat.
The Animal Protection Institute (and thanks to the faithful LoHud.com reader who has sent me this card two summers in a row) issues a reminder card telling pet owners the dangers of leaving animals in hot cars.
In 85-degree weather a car’s inside temperature can rise to 102 degrees in 10 minutes and to 120 degrees in a half hour—and that’s with the windows cracked open.
Dogs who are not killed by being left in hot cars (this counts as animal cruelty and is illegal, by the way) run the risk of suffering seizures, heat stroke and brain damage.
And may I also just remind pet owners not to leave your pets outside on hot days unless they are guaranteed a supply of fresh, cool water and adequate shade.
For more information on summertime tips, click here.












