Warm spell prompts BC SPCA to remind you not to leave pets in cars
Posted May 9, 2019 11:03 am.
Last Updated May 9, 2019 11:06 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – While we may be enjoying these summer-like temperatures, your dog could end up in danger if you leave it in your car.
Lorie Chortyk with the BC SPCA says the organization responded to hundreds of calls last year — and there were deaths.
“I think sometimes people’s confusion is that they think if they’re parked in the shade and the windows are open a bit, that that would be okay. But it’s really not. It can take as little as 10 minutes for an animal to die in a car … It doesn’t need to be a very, very hot day. It can just be an overcast day. Pets can still perish.”
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Chortyk explains dogs can’t release heat the same way we can. “They can’t actually let the heat out of their body in the same way as humans can. We have sweat glands so we can get that heat out of our body. But what happens is that heat stays within the animal … It’s almost like a microwave.”
“The only way [dogs] can release heat is by panting or through the pads of their paws, and it’s not a very efficient system.”
The bottom line: Don’t leave your pet in the car.
“We know that people take their pets with them because they love them. They want to have them with them. But really, the only safe place for their pets on a hot day is to be at home. If there’s a second person in the car, absolutely have one person run in to do the errands and one person keep the dog outside the car or make sure the dog is safe.”
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She notes someone who is found responsible for a pet dying in a hot car can be charged under the Criminal Code or the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
If you see a dog in a hot car, Chortyk says you can either call the SPCA’s animal cruelty hotline at 1-855-622-7722, animal control, or the police. If a window is open, she suggests dropping a wet towel into the car — if possible — to help cool the dog as you are waiting for help to arrive.
