What You Should Know About Leaving your Pet in the Car

Many well meaning pet owners can accidently injure their dogs. Never ever leave your dog in the car alone. Never. Common excuses pet owners make about leaving their dogs, “Oh, it will just be a few minutes while I go into the store,” or “But I cracked the windows…” These excuses don’t mean much when your dog suffers from heat stroke and potentially even dies.

Let me share some numbers. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the temperature inside your vehicle can rise almost 20º F in just 10 minutes. A study performed by the Louisiana Office of Public Health, found that the temperatures in a dark sedan as well as a light gray minivan parked on a hot, but partly cloudy day, exceeded 125^oF within 20 minutes.

Estimated Vehicle Interior Air Temperature v. Elapsed Time
Elapsed time	Outside Air Temperature (F)
Elapsed time	70	75	80	85	90	95
0 minutes	70	75	80	85	90	95
10 minutes	89	94	99	104	109	114
20 minutes	99	104	109	114	119	124
30 minutes	104	109	114	119	124	129
40 minutes	108	113	118	123	128	133
50 minutes	111	116	121	126	131	136
60 minutes	113	118	123	128	133	138
> 1 hour	115	120	125	130	135	140

Courtesy Jan Null, CCM; Department of Geosciences, San Francisco State University

This study also found that cracking the windows had very little effect on the temperature rise inside the vehicle.

Please leave your pets at home at home when you can…they’ll be safe and happily waiting for you to come home.