With the onset this week of high temperatures, Oxford County Sheriff Wayne Gallant issued an alert for pet owners.
People who take pets with them in cars or trucks on hot summer days and leave them in the vehicle with a window or two cracked open place their pets in lethal situations.
“I have heard of numerous complaints about people leaving animals in hot cars,” Gallant said by email Friday.
“I dealt with one at the county facility yesterday. And Mexico PD handled one by Walmart yesterday, too,” he said.
“Most of the police departments have received at least one complaint regarding dogs in vehicles,” he said.
Citing a brochure from www.MyDogIsCool.com, Gallant said that on warm days, the inside of a car heats up very quickly.
“When it is 85 degrees out, the temperature inside a car — even with the windows slightly open — can soar to 102 degrees in 10 minutes, and reach 120 degrees in just a half-hour,” he said. “On hotter days, the temperature will climb even higher.”
Outside temperatures in the 70s can be just as dangerous.
“Even leaving your dog for ‘just a minute’ may be too long,” Gallant said.
A dog’s normal temperature ranges from 101 to 102.5 degrees, the brochure states.
“Dogs can withstand a body temperature of 107 to 108 degrees for a short period of time only before suffering brain damage or even death,” he said.
So, if you care, don’t leave them there.
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