Don’t leave a dog unattended in a vehicle is the warning from the North Wales Companion Animal Welfare Forum as the current heatwave looks set to continue.
Every summer, warnings are issued about the dangers of leaving dogs in cars, but across the UK there are examples of people failing to listen to the warnings and their dogs become distressed and in some cases die due to the humid conditions inside the vehicle.
People should take heed of the following information:
- Within 10 minutes, the temperature of a parked car can reach double that of outside the car. If the air conditioning has been on during the journey, the temperature in the car can reach that of outside within five minutes.
- Leaving air conditioning on in an unattended car is not recommended, as modern cars cut this off after a short time and dogs have died in some cases due to the system blowing hot air into the car. Leaving a window open makes little difference to the car temperature and a bowl of water in a car can exacerbate the situation, as it reduces the dog’s ability to pant effectively.
- All dogs can suffer from heatstroke but the very young/old, long haired and short nosed varieties often suffer the most.
If you do leave your dog in a car and it becomes distressed due to the heat, this can be considered as cruelty. Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, anyone found guilty of animal cruelty could be fined up to £20,000 or face up to a year in prison.
