Summer Temperatures Make a Car a
Potential Oven
I know many of us have seen a dog sitting in a car while the owner is shopping
inside a store. Temperatures in a
car can quickly reach high and dangerous temperatures. Even though the temperature outside
may only be moderately warm, studies show that temperatures inside parked cars,
even with the windows left open, rise faster than many people might expect.
How long does it take for a care to get hot?
Here are some measures: Outside temperature of 85 degrees will rise to
100 degrees in a car in only 7 minutes and to 120 degrees in 30 minutes; outside
temperature of 100 degrees will rise to 140 degrees in a car in just 15 minutes! Alarming temperatures of 200 degrees
have been recorded in cars exposed to direct sunlight.
As the temperature of a parked car rises, a dog left inside will be brought the
edge of heat prostration. The dog
will struggle to get out of the car, and the more it struggles, the faster its
body temperature will rise. Dogs are
inefficiently equipped to dissipate heat from their bodies because their only
means of doing so is through panting.
Dogs do not have sweat glands.
Once a dog’s body temperature reaches a dangerous level (105 degrees),
its cells begin to die as body temperature rises and will sustain irreversible
organ damage and other problems due to toxic chemicals released by the damaged
cells. Every year many dogs die
agonizing deaths in parked cars.
Don’t let this happen to your dog.
During the summer months, be kind to your dog and leave it at home.
In the event of heat stroke, do the following: Gently place the dog in tub of
cool water, spray with cool water from a garden hose, apply ice packs to the
head and neck, and call a veterinarian as soon as possible for professional
care.
For information about Hill County Paw Pals, the group of concerned citizens with
goals of establishing a county animal shelter and animal control, please call
(254) 580-0679 or email
hcpawpals@yahoo.com; or write
PO Box 1533, Hillsboro,
Texas
76645.