Please, please don’t let your expression of love turn into a medical emergency or the loss of your beloved companion. Often, when you're out, you have to run into the store, Post Office, whatever and, if you’re like most people, you worry about your canine companion jumping out of the window after some cat that just shouldn’t ought to have been there. While this is a valid concern, even though you’re only planning to be gone a minute or two (if things go exactly as you had planned), the temperature in that vehicle can get hot enough to kill in mere minutes. I’ve seen dogs locked in cars with all of the windows rolled completely shut on blistering hot days and I know my mom and dad aren’t too worried about hurting some feelings or causing some embarrassment in order save the occupant before it is fried. I’ve seen people pull right up to the shelter here wanting to adopt one of our dogs with their dog in the car on a sunny day with the windows rolled up or maybe one just cracked a inch or two (does no good). Now it’s important for our dogs to get a home, most of them were scheduled to be euthanized by Animal Control precisely because they did not have a home but they don’t need a home quite that badly, they’ll stay here a bit longer If you don’t believe me, try parking your car in the sun with one window rolled down an inch or two. See how quickly it becomes unbearably hot in there. Now keep in mind that your dog is much smaller and has substantially less body mass and will heat up and dehydrate much faster. Humans, unlike dogs, also have the ability to sweat to help keep their body temperature constant. So what happens if your credit card doesn’t go through when you’re at the store or the Post Office tries to set a new record for slow service? That two minutes just turned to ten and I may be suffering from heat stroke or even dead when you do come out. Your taking me was an act of love. You didn’t mean to kill me. Did you?
With a little preplanning, disasters can be avoided. I know there are times that dad doesn’t take me, it’s just too hot or he has to go in somewhere that would result in me being left too long in the car. Now the hard and fast rule is supposed to be never leave your dog in the car alone (see HSUS tips for travelling with your dog) but this is the real world and you know it’s going to happen. Tell you what my dad does; he drives a Ford Escape with a sunroof and I get to go a lot more since he got that. If he has to run into the store, he leaves all four windows down enough to get a good exchange of air and opens the sunroof. He also installed a grill inside the back window so he can open it up without exposing any cats to a game of “stretch the kitty”. This allows him on all but the hottest days to run into someplace for just a minute. He also carries my Bubba Keg full of water once the weather gets warm. Sometimes though, much as I hate to say it, the safest thing is to leave me at the house. I don’t like that but it’s sure better than being dead.
A couple of other points for keeping tragedy at bay. Airbags kill. the fender-bender that ruined your day would end my life. Some vehicles have an option to turn off the passenger side air bag. This is a good feature. Having your dog ride in the back seat is always a good idea, airbags or no. I’ve got my own doggy bed in the back of my dad’s car. Even less thought about, electric windows can kill. I love to look out of the window but, by doing so, my feet are placed right near the buttons to operate the windows. Most cars have a feature for the driver to lock out all of the window controls but the driver’s and this is a great thing so long as you don’t leave me in the vehicle with the engine running and the air conditioner on to keep me cool. While I’m looking out of your window to see when you’re coming back, I could easily mash the button and roll my head up in the window.
The key to all of this is to think ahead. Plan your trips for when it’s cooler if you can. When making decisions about travelling, think of me as an infant because, when it comes to surviving in a parked car, I’m just about that capable of taking care of myself.
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