Bobbie blogs about dogs as she lives with mostly hounds. While no longer rescuing, she maintains Silverwalk Hounds Sanctuary for the remaining Sanctuary dogs as well as occasional fosters. She enjoys talking about dogs, including rescue, fostering and adoption.

Dogs in Hot (?) Cars: BUSTED

Posted Monday, August 18, 2014, at 7:29 PM

Twice within the past month, I've been approached because my dog was in my car with the windows rolled up. Each time, of course, the AC was on full blast with the car running. And this is what I want to say to the woman who approached me and the person(s) who called the police as well as the policeman who responded:

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

My dogs were safe. Yes, Ellie Mae the purebred Bloodhound may have looked distressed but it was because she was alone without her person; she is quite the velcro dog. I offered to take the woman to my car so she could see/feel for herself how cool it was inside. She declined but I made sure to thank her for her concern.

At the mall, the policeman kept telling me he couldn't hear my car run. I walked him to the rear, opened up the back to show how Mandy wasn't distressed, and he could feel the cool air: I even suggested he use a thermometer to check the temperature. I have a 2009 Honda CRV - it is very, very quiet - I've left it run before in my driveway thinking I'd turned it off because I couldn't hear it. Perhaps I should ask Chris Brown at Cape Girardeau Honda about my "problem!"

I try NOT to take dogs with me when I drive in heat but sometimes, the errands as well as the need of the dog coincide.

Again, I say "THANK YOU" to those concerned enough to act. This is the first summer this has happened. I'm so glad people are more aware and acting on behalf not only of animals but children, too.

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Thank you for being so considerate with your pets and other people. Please know that Stanford study says that the air conditioner running does not help. Here is a link to the conclusion of this study:

http://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2005/07/parked-cars-get-dangerously-hot-ev...

Also AVMA states that the air conditioner running will not keep a parked car cool. Here is the link to the AVMA short video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ku1CLJv-HzM

Please share these two links with others.

-- Posted by Paola on Wed, Aug 20, 2014, at 6:37 PM
Thank you, Paola. The Stanford link reference a short burst of AC before exiting the car. This is never sufficient; my car was running the entire time with the internal circulation exchange going which means the cool air in the car kept being circulated, NOT hot air from outside being pulled into the car. The officer in the AVMA video spoke of short term AC use and how it works better when the car is moving rather than still. This is obviously true as any of us who sit in a still AC car can attest. Again, I use my internal exchange rather than the external air exchange. When I'm driving, however, I use the external exchange so I get fresh air while the car is moving. Bottom line, though, is to avoid taking your dog in a car on hot days at all. I have 15 dogs at home and only had two individually in a car within a month with me on errands and vet visits. It is also very pertinent how the temp can build up even on what we perceive to be a mild day, 50s - 60s. Please check out these links - very good information in both.

-- Posted by silverwalk on Wed, Aug 20, 2014, at 9:31 PM
Thank you for getting the word out about this all-too common issue! But leaving the air conditioning running is a bit like playing Russian roulette with a dog in the car. Already three incidents of dogs left in the car with the AC running were reported this year (not to mention all the ones that don't get reported!) and a police officer is on trial for he K-9 partner who he left in the car with the A/C running... what can happen is the person is gone a few minutes longer than they think... the car over heart and the air turns off - or worse, starts blowing hot air and cooks your dog even faster.

http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2014-07-09/athens-man-says-dog-left-hot-car-o...

http://missoulian.com/news/national/florida-woman-charged-after-dog-dies-in-hot-...

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/u-s-world/wyoming-police-k-9-dies-after-bei...

Thank you again for your core support of this issue and please reconsider the dangers of leaving dogs in a parked car... it just doesn't seem worth it to take a chance with your dog's life!

-- Posted by My Dog is Cool on Sun, Aug 24, 2014, at 3:06 PM

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