How much do you love your pets…and your children? Beware!! Your car is no place for them, on a summer day.

We all know that, of course, but it can seem like “only a few minutes” when you have to run into the drugstore or a fast food place, or to pick up dry cleaning. But add in the patrons ahead of you, a slow cashier or other small delays, and those “few minutes” can be deadly. The heat of the sun can turn your car into an oven–and the windows act as an insulator to help it build.

“On a warm, sunny day, the temperature in a parked car can reach dangerous levels, 120º in minutes, even with the car window partially open. A pet can quickly suffer brain damage or die from heatstroke when trapped in these high temperatures, ” according to the Humane Society of the United States. Learn more at: http://www.hsus.org

The temperature in a car can rise to 200 degrees, depending on the outside temp, angle of the sun, and how long it sits there, and even parking in shady spot with the windows cracked isn’t safe. NEVER leave pets and small kids in the car. Passers-by probably won’t hear signs of distress, either…as the child or pet is likely to be quiet while being overcome and slipping toward death. Call 911 if you see a child or pet in this deadly situation!

And this is no time of the year to leave pets outside without shade and plenty of water, either. Today, the heat index is 100-105 where we live…which can also be deadly for a pet left tied out in the sun without the relief of shade and fresh water.

On nice days, our dogs often have the run of the deck that runs the length of our house, and though it offers shady spots, soft rugs–their “sleeping bags”, my husband says 🙂 –and I keep water out there for them, that deck is no place for them on a day like today, due to the “urban heat island effect.” Just step out there in late morning through late afternoon, and the intense, radiating heat rising off the deck is evident.

The heat island effect refers to hard, modern surfaces like asphalt, shingles–and the dark wood of our deck–which absorb heat and can create an island of temperature 50-90 degrees hotter the current temperature that day. In contrast, damp earth and grass under shady places will be far cooler.

Hope you and your pets are all keeping cool!