While our first inclination may be to break a window to save a dog, Lora Dunn, Staff Attorney at the Criminal Justice Program of the Animal Legal Defense Fund explains: Breaking into a vehicle as a private citizen may not only put you in physical danger, but can also expose you to legal liability: Animals are property in every jurisdiction, so taking an animal from another’s vehicle could trigger theft, burglary, trespass to property, and/or conversion of property charges, among others.
HOW TO HELP A PET LEFT IN A HOT CAR
•Take down the car’s make, model and license-plate number.
•If there are businesses nearby, notify their managers or security guards and ask them to make an announcement to find the car’s owner.
•If the owner can’t be found, call the non-emergency number of the local police or animal control and wait by the car for them to arrive.
•If the authorities are unresponsive or too slow and the dog’s life appears to be in imminent danger, find a witness (or several) who will back up your assessment, take steps to remove the suffering animal from the car, and then wait for authorities to arrive.
•Watch for heatstroke symptoms such as restlessness, excessive thirst, thick saliva, heavy panting, lethargy, lack of appetite, dark tongue, rapid heartbeat, fever, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, and lack of coordination. If a dog shows any of these symptoms, get him or her out of the heat, preferably into an air-conditioned vehicle, and then to a veterinarian immediately. If you are unable to transport the dog yourself, take him or her into an air-conditioned building if possible and call animal control: Tell them it is an emergency.
•Provide water to drink, and if possible spray the dog with a garden hose or immerse him or her in a tub of cool (but not iced) water for up to two minutes in order to lower the body temperature gradually. You can also place the dog in front of an electric fan. Applying cool, wet towels to the groin area, stomach, chest, and paws can also help. Be careful not to use ice or cold water, and don’t overcool the animal.
OTHER WAYS TO HELP
•Get informed: Learn your town’s laws about leaving pets in hot cars.
•Be ready to call for help: Gather essential telephone numbers and have them on hand. You’ll want to have your local animal control agency’s number and the police department’s non-emergency number so you can quickly report the situation. Keep these numbers in your purse, your car’s glove compartment or programmed into your phone.
•Spread the word: Distribute The Humane Society of the United States hot car flyer, which spells out the dangers of leaving pets in parked cars. Order flyers on animalsheltering.org. Y
•Get involved: Ask local store managers, shopping malls, restaurants and other businesses to post signs asking customers not to leave their pets in their cars while shopping or dining.
•Speak up: If your town doesn’t have a law prohibiting leaving pets in parked cars, contact your local representatives or attend a town hall meeting to start lobbying for one.
COOL OUTSIDE DOESN’T MEAN COOL IN THE CAR
It doesn’t have to be that warm outside for a car to become dangerously hot inside. Here are some facts:
•When it’s 72 degrees Fahrenheit outside, the temperature inside your car can heat up to 116 degrees Fahrenheit within an hour.
•When it’s 80 degrees Fahrenheit outside, the temperature inside your car can heat up to 99 degrees Fahrenheit within 10 minutes.
•Rolling down the windows has been shown to have little effect on the temperature inside a car.
~humanesociety.org, peta.org,
animalrights.about.com
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