STROUDSBURG, Pa. (WLVT) - As temperatures rise for the summer, a new bill goes into effect allowing law enforcement officers to rescue pets from being left in a hot car.
“We always get calls about animals being left in cars,” said Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Anthony Petroski. He said they will do everything they can to contact the pet owner before breaking into the car.
The
American Veterinary Medical Association released a chart to show how quickly the temperature can rise inside your car. For example, if it is 70 degrees outside, within 20 minutes, your car will feel like 99 degrees inside.
“Studies have shown that even cracking the window is not going to make a significant change to that,” said Dr. Christine Bongiorno from Pocono Peak Veterinary Center in Stroudsburg. “Obviously, you don’t want to leave the window open because then your dog could run out, so the best thing is to leave your dog at home or bring it to a pet friendly place.”
Dr. Bongiorno said dogs can develop blood pressure problems, organ failure, blood clots, and die from being overheated. She also said if your pet has been overheated, it’s important to cool the pet down, but you have to be careful. “So you don’t want to take a dog from a really hot car and throw it in an ice bath, because that can cause problems too,” said Dr. Bongiorno. “So cooling them down is important, but you want a slow cool down.”
Trooper Petroski emphasized the fact that this bill does not protect civilians, but it does protect law enforcement. “If a civilian pulls into a parking lot, they see a dog in a car, and they think the dog is in distress and they break the window, not only can they face criminal charges, but they could be liable to pay for the damages on that vehicle,” said Trooper Petroski.
He said the best thing to do if you see a pet in a hot car is to call the police and wait for them to arrive.
