Photos: Marvel Superheroes Spring Into Action in Hopkinsville After Dog Left to Die in Hot Car

For Immediate Release:
August 12, 2025

Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382

They play superheroes on the big and small screens, and now, Marvel stars Danai Gurira and Krysten Ritter are acting as real-life superheroes to dogs as they star in a PETA PSA blitz popping up above gas pumps across Hopkinsville, warning drivers never to leave an animal in a hot car. The campaign follows reports that a dog died in Hopkinsville in June after being left in a hot car for six hours.

This year in the U.S. alone, at least 94 dogs and cats have died from heat-related causes, including at least 72 inside vehicles. (The actual numbers are likely far higher, as most deaths go unreported.) On a 70-degree day, the temperature inside a parked car can soar to 99 degrees in 20 minutes. On a 90-degree day, the interior temperature can reach as high as 109 degrees in just 10 minutes.

Photos: PETA

“Hot cars are death traps for dogs, who will panic and convulse in agony as their body temperatures soar and their organs shut down,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA urges everyone never to leave any animal unattended in a vehicle, and if they see an animal trapped in a hot car, do whatever they can to save them.”

Anyone who sees an animal in a hot car should call 911 immediately. Write down the car’s make, model, and license plate number, or take a picture of the vehicle,  go to the nearest building, and ask that the owner of the car be paged. If authorities are too slow to respond and the animal’s life appears to be in imminent danger, do whatever needs to be done to save them. PETA offers an emergency window-breaking hammer to help intervene in these life-or-death situations. Don’t leave until the authorities arrive on the scene and you know the animal is safe.

Ad locations:  Marathon at 800 N. Main St., Huck’s at 150 North Dr., Max Fuel Xpress at 2103 Fort Campbell Blvd., and Skyline at 1029 Skyline Dr.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.