Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Last year in my community a beautiful and full trained service dog died when the HEAD of the training facility left the dog in her car when it was cloudy and 80 degrees. Be aware.
I live here in Phoenix, Az. Just the other day a sheriff's deputy was arrested on animal cruelty charges. He parked his sheriffs vehicle outside one of the prisons (Lewis maybe), and left his K-9 partner in the backseat for 7 house. Unfortunately, the K-9 did not make it. But the officer was charged for animal cruelty. I don't think his punishment will suffice the crime. Inmy opinion, he got off with a slap on the wrist.
Your chart is going to be inaccurate. Each car will heat differently. It depends upon the color of the car, the tint of the windows, how much window glass.
I don't take my dogs when it is 80 degrees outside, but any dog should be able to survive a car that is 98 degrees inside, unless there is some sort of health issue or weak heart. That is below their normal body temperature and many dogs live in areas where that is lower than the outdoor temperature for part of the year. Dogs in Arizona don't all die every summer.
My rule of thumb, my dogs aren't left in the car unless I could leave a small chocolate bar in the car without it getting soft or melting.
That is different for each car. My white cargo van with very few windows is fine inside when it is in the sun at 80 degrees. My son's fancy black Blazer with all the windows is too hot to be comfortable if it is over 60 degrees outside. I've run the air conditioning in that car when it was 50 degrees outside. Each car is different. There can not be any hard and fast rule about what weather becomes unsafe for a dog in the car.
The chart is a good way to remind people that it is unwise to leave pets, or other living beings in vehicles when it is warm out. Vehicle color may make some difference but may also give people a false sense of security, a lighter color may offer some protection it isn't going to do much over time. And time is the real enemy.
Humans experience time distortion. For example if you are engaged in browsing the web on your phone for ten minutes if asked you probably will say it's been a minute or two. However, if you are idly waiting in line for a minute you would probably estimate it to have been five minutes. This is one reason it is so dangerous to leave any living being in a vehicle, our conception of time is unreliable and it is usually much longer than we think.
A good way to figure it out is to test it yourself. Sit in your vehicle in the sun with the windows open as far as you would if you were leaving your dog in it for the amount of time you expect to be gone. See how warm it gets and then decide if it's ok for your dog. If not leave your dog home. I don't take my dogs with me during the day unless they can go with me or I'm not leaving the vehicle. I take them with me at night but even then I'm careful.
The police K-9 vehicles I've seen (recently) keep the engine running when the dog is inside. That keeps it a comfortable temperature for the dog.
There are all sorts of other features to one of these new "wiz bang" K-9 vehicles... Like a remote control/pager like device the officer carries with him when he leaves the dog in the vehicle. That has an alarm on it to notify the officer if the vehicle gets too hot or too cold (engine dies). Also will open the rear door with the push of a button and the dog can be released to come save an officer needing help.
I saw one of these demonstrated at a police department open house. They said they purchased the special vehicle with donations...
Now that you mention it Billy_J I've seen that as well, just didn't give it a thought. The vehicles are clearly marked. Those are great upgrades, I'm going to mention it to my friend who is in law enforcement and hopes to become a part of the K9 team. I'm sure she'll be pleased to learn about it, thanks for sharing =)
A dog is wearing a fur coat and cannot sweat as we do.
I once came across an autopsy report on some dogs that had died inside a vehicle.
It wasn't nice.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
