 |
… and, elsewhere, another dog cooks to death in a hot car.
Common sense steers most adults clear of certain threats, like smoking in bed, eating rancid leftovers, and leaving the kiddies in the car while you chug beers and ogle strippers. A man in Florida apparently didn’t get the memo on that last one.
Yes, we’re disgusted. But are we surprised? Not really, because PETA and KIDS AND CARS, an organization we teamed up with last year, both receive countless complaints regarding dogs and children who are left unattended in hot cars.
According to KIDS AND CARS, hyperthermia—a rapid and often fatal rise in body temperature—is the third-leading cause of death in children in vehicular incidents that are unrelated to traffic.
And PETA receives alarming reports of dogs who succumb to heatstroke within minutes when people fail to realize how little time it takes for a car interior to heat up. On a 78-degree day, the temperature inside a car can climb to 97 degrees in just 10 minutes. Dogs can only cool themselves by panting, so they can quickly succumb to heatstroke and suffer brain damage or death.
Rolling down the car windows slightly does not offer adequate relief.
Please remind everyone you know that it’s always best to leave the children and the dogs at home with the A/C (and a sitter) on “errand days” as well as “stripper nights.”
Written by Karin Bennett
