Noah’s Hope: Hot Dogs
If you have heard it once, you have heard it a thousand times: DON’T LEAVE YOUR DOG IN THE CAR IN THE SUMMERTIME. Did you notice we didn’t say Don’t leave your dog in a hot car?” Hot is relative. You may not think it’s hot, but your dog would probably have a different opinion.
In science class we learned how our bodies cool off when we are hot. We sweat, sweat evaporates, and somehow evaporation cools things off. Dogs don’t sweat, they just pant a lot and if they’re lucky the air moving across their sloppy wet tongues is cooler than they are, so it cools them. But think about how puny their tongue is compared to the rest of their body. At least we have a cooling system that covers all our body parts.
We might not think it’s too hot in the car on a 78 degree day. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) gives us some interesting stats: “On a 78 degree day, the temperature inside a car can soar to 110-120 degrees in just minutes. On a 90 degree day, the interior temperature can reach as high as 160 degrees in just minutes. In some cases brain damage or heatstroke has occurred in just 15 minutes.”
Even on cooler days temperatures in a car can rise fast. The American Veterinary Medical Association says, regardless of the outside temperature, “in 10 minutes the temp can rise 19 degrees. In 20 minutes the temp can go up 29 degrees. Rising 45-50 degrees in an hour is very common.”
Is it illegal to leave a dog in a car? The Animal Legal and Historical Center tells us, “Only 16 states declare it illegal to leave an animal confined in a vehicle.” Unfortunately, Siouxland’s tri-state area is not included in this list.
Now let’s talk about paws. Have you ever walked down a street barefoot in the summertime? Try it sometime. You will be amazed at how hot the street is! This is not just because our feet are wimpy from wearing shoes all the time.
PETA tells us that “on an 86 degree day the asphalt can reach 135 degrees – more than hot enough to fry an egg. Go one degree higher, to 87degrees, and the pavement can reach 140 degrees, causing severe burns and scarring.”
Since dogs do sweat a little bit through their footpads, these hot surfaces simply boil away any moisture that might help them to cool off.
So, do unto doggies as you would want things done unto you. If you wouldn’t wasn’t to sit in a 120 degree car, don’t make Fido do it either. And if you wouldn’t walk barefoot down that hot street, Fifi wouldn’t want to either.
Noah’s Hope Animal Rescue (and Thrift Store)
2601 Myrtle St.
Sioux City, IA 51103
712-253-8394
Visit our Facebook page or website for more information:
https://www.facebook.com/NoahsHopeAnimalRescue
Noah’s Hope Animal Rescue is an all-volunteer, 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation. We rescue the underdogs: the old, the sick and injured, the used-up by breeders, the forsaken and misunderstood. We nurse them, bring them back from the brink, and give them another chance. We believe they make the very best pets because somehow, they understand and are grateful.
About the Author
Noah's Hope -- Lita Shulenberger Lita Shulenberger is a volunteer for Noah’s Hope. She’s fostered 85 dogs in the last 2 years. Quote: “I know that somewhere in the distant past I wanted to be a veterinarian. At the time I would have thought that anyone who lets their life go to the dogs like THIS was crazy. Well, it turns out I AM crazy, and I like it."
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