Texas Humane Legislation Network (THLN) - Promoting the humane treatment of animals through legislation, education and advocacy

Seasonal Alert, Jun 01 - Aug 31 : Cool It! Summer's Heat Can Be Deadly for Your Pet

Issue Links: Animal Cruelty

The Dog Days of Summer

Common sense tells most people that leaving their pet inside a parked vehicle on a hot, summer day could be dangerous after an extended period of time. But most people don't realize that the temperature can skyrocket after just a few minutes. Parking in the shade or leaving the windows cracked does little to alleviate this pressure cooker. 

Americans have a love affair with their cars—and their pets. During the summer months, however, the combination can be deadly.

Heatstroke might have killed a litter of kittens if Kim Intino, manager of HSUS's Animal Services Consultation Program, hadn't noticed their frantic movements while walking through a mall parking lot in upstate New York. The kittens, trapped inside a parked car on a hot, humid summer afternoon, were "literally throwing themselves against the car doors trying to get out." Their open-mouth panting and desperate attempts to escape the vehicle were signals to Intino, at the time an animal caretaker at a veterinary office, that the kittens were in real danger.

Intino immediately contacted mall security to have the owner of the vehicle paged. But before the owner arrived, Intino convinced a security guard to force the locks on the vehicle open, possibly saving the cats' lives. "Their bodies were very limp, and they were gasping for air when we got them out," she says.

The kittens were lucky. They survived. Many pets aren't so fortunate.

Click here to read the full HSUS article and to learn more about pet care.

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