Dogs die in hot cars

On a warm day in May, Tanya Luiten, owner of Town and Country Preschool, stopped at Walmart to make a few purchases. As she got out of her car, she heard a dog barking but couldn’t find it.”I went in and shopped,î Luiten said. ìI was only there half an hour, but when I came out, the dog was still barking.î She saw another woman looking for the barking dog, and together they located it inside a parked car.When they looked inside, they found a hot, long-haired terrier that looked like Toto from the ìWizard of Ozî laying on the front seat.”His tongue was hanging out of his mouth, and he was barely barking,î Luiten said. ìHe was just kind of yipping and panting.”The outside thermometer in my car read 88 degrees, so the tempurature inside the car must have been much hotter.îOne of the car’s windows was rolled down only a few inches.Luiten went back into Walmart and had the driver of the car paged. She said the Walmart operator was happy to do so, using the carís license plate number.Soon, a woman came out, opened the car’s door and sat with the dog. Then, she drove away, never meeting the Good Samaritan who saved her dog’s life.”Every year, you hear about children or animals dying in cars,î Luiten said. ìPeople just don’t realize it only takes a couple minutes for them to just fry, literally. I hate to use that word, but that’s what happens.îìCars become ovens,î said Michelle Burchfield, National Mill Dog Rescue representative.A dogís normal body temperature is between 101 to 102.5 degrees. Dogs can only withstand a higher body temperature for a short time before suffering nerve damage, heart problems, liver damage, brain damage or even death, Burchfield said.ìEven on mild days, an enclosed car can be deadly,î she said. ìWhen it’s 72 degrees outside, a carís internal temperature can climb to 116 degrees within an hour. Studies show that cracking windows open has little effect on a carís internal temperature.îUnlike people, who cool themselves by perspiring through their skin, dogs (and cats) cool themselves by panting and releasing heat through their paws.On warm days, the air and upholstery in a vehicle heats up, making it impossible for pets to cool themselves, Burchfield said.According to http://petmd.com, signs of heat stroke in dogs include

• Panting
• Dehydration
• Excessive drooling
• Increased body temperature (above 103 degrees F)
• Reddened gums
• Production of only small amounts of urine or no urine
• Rapid heart rate
• Irregular heart beat
• Vomiting blood
• Blood in the stool; black, tarry stools
• Seizures
• Muscle tremors
• Wobbly gait
• Unconsciousness

Short-nosed, flat-faced breeds and dogs that are obese, have thick fur or have hyperthyroidism are particularly susceptible to heat stroke.The goal for emergency treatment of heat stroke in dogs is to lower the dog’s internal temperature slowly with cool water. Do not use ice and cold water as they could induce a shivering reaction, which increases the internal temperature.The petmd.com Web site recommends spraying the dog with cool water, immersing the dog’s entire body in cool water or wrapping the dog in cool, wet towels; until the dog’s internal temperature is less than 103 degrees. Then, stop treatment to avoid lowering the temperature too much, and have the dog checked by a veterinarian.Thousands of dogs die each year from being left in a heated car.