CIRCLEVILLE – If you have visited an event or a shopping center you’ve seen it. A dog in a car with the window slightly cracked while the owner is at an event or in a store. Sometimes that’s ok, bringing the pets with you and making them secure isn’t a bad thing.
Whats dangerous is when pets are left in cars with high temperatures outside. A local Reader experienced this, “I stopped at Dollar Tree in Circleville yesterday around 4 pm. When I came out to my car, I observed a wiener dog in a parked car with the window open a few inches. The dog was struggling to reach the window and breathe. I sat and monitored it and got scared when I looked over and didn’t see it. I went up to the driver’s side of the car and noticed there was a lady in a car beside it. I then noticed that the dog was in her car. I told her that I was checking on the dog because I couldn’t see it and was worried. She said it was her boyfriend’s dog and was fine because it wasn’t that hot out. I explained to her that it was 75 degrees and the car could quickly reach over 100 degrees even on days like yesterday. She became irritated with me. I asked her if she had read about the dangers of leaving dogs in parked cars then left.”
One misconception is leaving a window cracked
A window cracked only gives a small amount of relief benefit. According to pediatrics.org the temperature difference with a slightly cracked window was only slightly different than with a closed window.
Another misconception is “it’s not that hot out.”
Even 70 degree days the temperature in a car can rise rapidly up to 20 degrees in ten minutes, 30 degrees in twenty, according to http://Noheatstroke.com
According to Ohio law: Unattended in a parked or standing motor vehicle during a period of extreme heat or cold or in any other manner that endangers the health or safety of the cat or dog. A cat or dog that is removed from a motor vehicle under the law is deemed to be an animal being treated cruelly for the purposes of NRS 574.055.
This is my dog and he was in the van for about 1 minute, he loves car rides also…..
