Animal Hospital warns of the dangers with pets left in the car during the summer heat

Summer is finally here in Niagara and it’s about time! After an unseasonably cold spring we’re starting to experience some warmer weather.   With the hot humid weather arriving our Welland animal hospital, the Main West Animal Hospital wants to take the opportunity to warn you about the dangers of leaving your pet in a hot car.

Every year we hear of pets that have been left too long in a hot car, these dogs can quickly succumb to heat stroke, dehydration and unfortunately some animals actually die from this.  It can take less than 15 minutes on a hot day for the temperature inside a car to reach a suffocating level of 110 degress Farenheit or greater.  Regardless if you had the air-conditioning on prior to shutting off the car , the temperature can take just minutes to soar to unbearable levels.  Our Welland animal hospital, the Main West Animal Hospital urges you to not take the chance with your pets on a hot day, even if you feel you are only going to be a minute.  Things can easily get you distracted and potentially put your pet’s life at risk.

If you must take your pet with you in your car on a hot day and need to leave them in the car, it’s best if you can have someone stay in the car with them while it’s running with the air-conditioning on.  It’s also a good idea to provide them with some water. Some people will argue that if car windows are left open the pet should be fine.  In actual fact most people only partially open the windows so their pets can’t jump out.  This doesn’t allow enough air flow to prevent the temperature from reaching unacceptable levels. Leaving the windows fully open increases the risk that your pet could escape the car, and if leashed they could suffer a terrible injury.

Our Welland animal hospital, the Main West Animal Hospital would like you to know that if you see a pet in a locked car on a hot day you should contact the police or the local Humane Society to report the situation.  If possible stay until help arrives.  Far too many pets are hospitalized or die from this very preventable issue. Using a little common sense this summer can go a very long way in ensuring these tragedies don’t happen.