Dogs die in
Hot
Cars
Every year, the Royal Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals receives calls about dogs being
left in vehicles, out in the sun. On a hot summer's day, a dog inside a closed
car can be dead in just 6 minutes. It's that simple. A closed vehicle left
in an unshaded area in summer can heat up to nearly double the outside
temperature within 20 minutes. This means that leaving your dog in a car
under these conditions could subject the animal to temperatures of up to
73øC. After 6 minutes, your dog could be sitting in temperatures up
to 55øC. At this temperature, the dog would not survive and would
die from heat stress.
This table shows the maximum
temperatures reached in popular cars on a summer and winter day. The hottest
temperature reading during the summer was 73øC, nearly double the
outside temperature.
Heat kills, and all it takes
is 6 minutes for the inside of your car to heat up to temperatures that are
fatal. It does not matter how big your car is. The inside temperatures are
determined by the colour of your car and the glass surface area of your car.
Generally speaking, vehicles with larger glass surface areas, such as
hatch-backs, heat up faster and higher than other similar sized sedans. The
table opposite reinforces the dangers of leaving animals, and children, in
parked vehicles even if it is for a short period of time. |
Maximum
Temperature in Vehicles (Outside air temperature in brackets) |
VEHICLE TYPE |
WINTER C |
SUMMER C |
Large Sedan (White) |
43.4 (19.3) |
63.6 (33.7) |
Large Sedan (Dark green) |
47.9 (19.3) |
71.2 (37.2) |
Large Wagon (White) |
39.1 (21.5) |
56.6 (37.2) |
Medium Sedan (Off white) |
43.7 (21.3) |
66.6 (33.7) |
Medium Sedan (Dark green) |
47.6 (19.3) |
73
(37.2) |
Small Sedan (White) |
41.3 (21.4) |
63
(37.2) |
Small Sedan (Blue) |
48.1 (21.4) |
N.A |
Small hatch (White) |
N.A |
64
(37.2) |
Small Hatch (Dark) |
N.A |
70.5 (37.2) |
|
