As it starts to heat up across the country, it is important for all animal owners to remember not to leave their animals locked inside their cars while the air conditioning is not on.
Every summer the RSPCA is inundated with calls from concerned citizens alerting us to animals that have been left or locked in hot cars. The RSPCA cannot stress enough that it takes just six minutes or less for an animal to suffer severe heat exhaustion in a car and die.
If you find a pet left in a hot car, please call the Police on 000. The Police are equipped to dispatch officers quickly from the nearest police station which is critical under these circumstances.
Tests conducted by Melbourne’s Metropolitan Ambulance Service on a 29 degree day with the car’s air conditioning having cooled the interior to a comfortable 20 degrees showed it took just 10 minutes for the temperature to more than double to 44 degrees. In a further 10 minutes it had tripled to a deadly 60.2 degrees. As with humans, exposure to these types of temperatures can be extremely dangerous.
RSPCA also urges pet owners to not leave an animal on the back of a utility without adequate shade, shelter and water. Again, animals left in these conditions can quickly suffer from severe dehydration and heat exhaustion. If you know that you will most likely be away from your pet, even for a couple of minutes, while you are out, it is much better to leave an animal at home where they are comfortable and have access to water than leave it alone in a car. Even if parked in the shade, the temperature inside a car on a summer’s day can reach hazardous levels.
For more information, please visit the RSPCA’s site on summer care for your animals.
Please take care of your furry friends!