Hot Car Deaths Prompt ‘Too Hot For Spot and Tot’ Ad Blitz

PETA Billboards Remind People That a Parked Car Can Quickly Turn Deadly

For Immediate Release:
August 4, 2020

Contact:
Brooke Rossi 202-483-7382

With summer in full swing—and following the deaths of two dogs and a child after they were left in hot cars—PETA has launched an ad blitz in the area reminding people never to leave dogs or kids in parked vehicles, as they can succumb to heatstroke in mere minutes.

On a 78-degree day, the temperature inside a parked car can soar to 100 degrees in just minutes, and on a 90-degree day, the interior temperature can reach as high as 109 degrees in less than 10 minutes. Dogs—who can sweat only through their paw pads and cool themselves mainly by panting—can rapidly succumb to heatstroke, even if a vehicle is parked in the shade with the windows slightly open, which has little or no effect on lowering the temperature inside.

“Cars can quickly become death traps for vulnerable animals and children locked inside,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “In these high temperatures, PETA is urging people not to take this risk with their loved ones’ lives.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—notes that this year, at least 25 dogs and cats and 14 children have died from heat-related causes across the country. The group urges anyone who sees an animal left alone inside a car to call humane authorities or 911 immediately and remain on the scene until the situation has been resolved.

If authorities are unresponsive or too slow and the animal’s life appears to be in imminent danger, find a witness who will back up your assessment before carefully removing the animal from the car. Treat suspected heatstroke by wrapping a cool, wet towel around the animal’s head and neck, and when authorities arrive, ensure that the animal is taken to a veterinarian for care.

PETA opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. A list of some of PETA’s ad locations follows. A complete list is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org.

‘Too Hot for Spot and Tot’ Ads

• 3323–3363 Morganford Rd., St. Louis (facing north, toward Fairview Avenue)
• 1366–1416 Ashby Rd., St. Louis (facing south, toward Midwest Industrial Boulevard)
• 4671–4699 Holly Hills Ave., St. Louis (facing southwest)
• 7001 Wellington Ave., St. Louis (facing west, toward Pernod Avenue)
• 11 Martin Luther King Dr., East St. Louis, Illinois (facing east, at the intersection with Collinsville Avenue)
• 2900 N. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Ann, Missouri (facing south, toward St. Louis Lambert International Airport)
• 83 N. 88^th, Centerville, Illinois (facing south, toward Lake Drive)
• 910 Madison Ave., Madison, Illinois (facing north)
• 200–248 Centreville Ave., Belleville, Illinois (facing north, toward Lincoln Street)
• 2809 E. Broadway, Alton, Illinois (facing east, toward Sering Avenue)