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.
The ignorance is unbelievable. People think it won't happen to THEIR dogs. And you have to ask why people have their dogs in the car with them in the first place. If you were taking them to the vet or the dog park or to a friend's house and want to stop to run errands on the way home, take themhome first. Go out of your way -- they are worth it. If you don't want to leave them home on their own because you're afraid they'll get into things or pee or poop in the house -- stop and THINK! What's worse? Cleaning up a mess or dealing with a dead dog or two?
I think some people honestly forget. They run in somewhere that should take a minute and get tied up with customer service or whatever. Now that I am more forgetful I never leave my dog even just to run in somewhere and I keep the leash on my lap when any of them are with me so I don't accidently forget.
I've found a lot of people (in general) are under the impression that dealing with heat stroke is as simple as getting the body temp down. That's only a SMALL part of it...LOTS of complications are possible and almost certain in advanced cases. Its a terrible, terrible death...the animal suffers tremendously. Heatstroke isn't anything to take chances with.
Just makes me sick. A week ago this last Saturday my son and I were grocery shopping. As we came back to our car I saw a little white dog in the front of a SUV with the windows down just a bit. I wrote a note and left it on the windshield wiper. People were walking by as I did so and someone actually said "you should mind your own business"
My dogs love to go places with me but as the temps rise they have to stay home. Much safer for them there.
My boss, the owner of a 90 lb. GSD leaves her dog in the car with the AC running while shopping. The car has stalled out before and the dog has been trapped inside the car with no air whatsoever. The dog has also been trapped inside the car when she lost her keys. No one can convince this woman that the dog might be more comfortable at home sometime. I think she thinks he's an accessory. I just want to shoot her.
My vet and I did the same test back in the 1980s. The day was 75 degrees on a nice fall day... no humidity! In 30 minutes temp inside my truck was 100! In the shade!
Either it was not completely in the shade or your engine sent lots of heat into the passenger compartment after you parked.
The physics of the situation make the temperature rise you've described impossible by any other means besides these two. Heat cannot flow directly from a 75 degree air ambient and heat your car above 75. Only heat from either solar loading or some other independent heat source could do that.
Heat Flow 101 (or maybe, to be fair, 201 ... integrals are involved) .
I've called the police more than once when I see a dog left in a car. I live in FL and it's almost never cool enough to leave a pet in a vehicle even for a minute.
I take my dog with me winter and summer - when I to go Petco and PetSmart where she can go inside with me. In the winter I take her to the beach, too hot in the summer. I take her to the gas station sometimes for a special treat since she likes to ride in the car and it remains cool for the few minutes it takes to pump gas but otherwise she stays home.
Very sad to hear about a dog demise because of being trapped in a car that is cooking. I live in South Florida and will only take my dogs on trips through a drive through. If I have to get out the car then I don't take them. This is usually done in the evening time, because of extreme daytime temps.
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.
