-EDITORIAL
Every summer, pet owners are reminded of the dangers of leaving pets in vehicles, and yet, there are hundreds of cases across the country every year.
Regardless of whether they have water, there’s a cool breeze, the windows are down, and “you’ll just be a minute,” it’s a life-risking decision.
According to the Alberta SPCA, when the outside air temperature is as low as 21-degrees Celsius, within 10 minutes, inside of a car can feel like 32-degrees Celsius.
After 30 minutes, it jumps to 40.
That’s on one of the cooler days.
Imagine when it’s 32-degrees Celsius. After just 10 minutes, that vehicle turns into an oven, reaching 43-degrees Celsius.
Just like their human counterparts, dogs can suffer from heat stroke, they just show it in a different way.
They will excessively pant and drool, and show signs of listlessness or unconsciousness.
The Ontario SPCA has created #NoHotPets in hopes of spreading the word about the dangers of leaving your furry loved ones in the vehicle while you run errands.
They note that dogs have a limited ability to sweat, not to mention their normal body temperature is about 39-degrees Celsius, while the average human body temperature ranges from 36.1-degrees Celsius to 37.2-degrees Celsius.
It may not seem like much of a difference, but when a pet is sitting on a consistently warm environment, that two to four-degree difference can mean a lot.
Instead of bringing Snowball along for the ride, leave them at home. It could mean the difference between life or death.
