For Immediate Release:
June 11, 2021
Contact:
Nicole Meyer 202-483-7382
Des Moines, Iowa – Two dogs had to be rescued from a hot car in Des Moines recently, and this week’s scorching temperatures will put dogs at high risk of enduring heat prostration and death, so PETA issued an urgent warning to anyone with a dog:
- Touch the pavement to ensure that it won’t burn dogs’ foot pads.
- Be alert to a long, curled-up tongue and heavy panting, as dogs cannot sweat as humans can and heat builds up inside their bodies.
- Walk only in the shade, on earth or grass, and never leave animals outdoors in extreme heat or inside vehicles.
Just last week, PETA fieldworkers discovered the body of a dog who had died after being left chained up in the hot sun, and similar reports nationwide are starting to roll in. Recently, a law-enforcement officer mistakenly left his patrol car with a dog inside it, and the K-9 succumbed to heat prostration and died. Last year, more than 31 dogs were reported dead from heat-related causes. (Figures are likely far higher, as most heat-related deaths go unreported.)
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
