Campaign Heats Up To Save Overheated Dogs

Summer is fast approaching and you know what that means. The kids will be out of school, families are planning road trips and picnics, and the temperatures will be soaring.

If you're planning to take the family dog along on a road trip, or even a trip to the store, don't forget to make it safe and fun for your furry companion as well.

RedRover, a national nonprofit animal protection organization, is actively spreading the message that dogs should not be left in cars on warm days.

"People do take their dogs places with them, to the store, when they go out to eat, and stores are making accommodations for dogs. But it's when people are leaving the pet in the car that it's the problem," said John Reese of the Marin Humane Society. "Even during a short 5-10 minute errand, the car temperature increases dramatically, even with the windows cracked."

The Marin Humane Society has already answered 27 calls for dogs left behind in hot cars this month, including one in Novato in which a dog had to be removed from the car and taken to an emergency clinic in San Rafael. On one especially hot weekend, May 3-4, officials responded to 14 calls.

"You wouln't leave your infant child in the car while you run errands, so don't leave your dog in the car," Reese said.

The Marin Humane Society has responded to eight calls in Novato, six in San Rafael and three each in Corte Madera, Mill Valley and Sausalito. There have also been calls to Fairfax (2), San Anselmo (1) and Tiburon (1).

"Leaving a dog in the car while running errands, dining or visiting a tourist attraction can literally be a death sentence," said RedRover President and CEO Nicole Forsyth. "As the heat inside a car quickly rises, dogs suffer irreversible organ damage and eventually death. The safe choice is to leave your dog in a cool house."

Forsyth offered five reasons why leaving a dog in a hot car can be deadly:

• Dogs are especially vulnerable to heat-related illness because they can only cool off by panting and through the pads in their feet.
• Even seemingly mild days are dangerous. In a Stanford University study, when it was 72 degrees outside, a car's internal temperature climbed to 116 degrees within one hour, with most of the rise happening in the first 15 to 30 minutes.
• Enclosed cars heat up quickly. In a study by San Francisco State University, when it was 80 degrees outside, the temperature inside a car rose to 99 degrees in 10 minutes and 109 degrees in 20 minutes.
• A dog's normal body temperature is between 101 to 102.5 degrees; a dog can withstand a high body temperature for only a short time before suffering irreversible nerve damage, heart problems, liver damage, brain damage or even death.
• Studies show that cracking the windows has little effect on a vehicle's internal temperature.