I can’t stand the heat

Nelson dog owners are risking their furry friend’s life by leaving them in the car over summer.

While Nelsonians are wondering where the hot sunny days have gone, dogs are being cooked in cars reaching temperatures more than 30 degrees celcius.

Nelson SPCA manager Donna Walzl said they had had ‘‘lots’’ of callouts this summer to distressed dogs left in cars, with as many as three in a day at times.

In 10 minutes, a car’s temperature can get to 39degC. In 30 minutes, a car parked in the shade with the windows down can reach a deadly 49 degrees.

Walzl said people thought if they had the windows down in the shade they were doing the right thing.

‘‘That’s the scary thing ... sometimes it’s not enough.’’

The public and parking wardens had notified the SPCA of dogs in cars, fearing for their safety.

Parking wardens had been great, watching out for dogs waiting in cars for long stints, she said.

‘‘They look at the time when the ticket was taken and they go, ‘That dog’s been there for 20 minutes and they’ve got another hour on their ticket!’’’

Despite the large number of callouts to dogs baking in cars, there has been no fatalities this summer. ’’But there has been several in Nelson’’ over the years, Walzl said.

Walzl had an example of owners thinking they were doing the right thing by tying their dog to the back of their car recently.

‘‘Of course, the sun moved around and the dog ended up in full sun and couldn’t get away ... sitting on the hot pavement.’’

Dogs found in distress and retrieved from a hot car should be taken to a vet straight away.

Halifax Veterinary Clinic vet Hans Andersen said there had been no dogs brought in from overheating this summer.

He said they would normally get two or three each summer ‘‘but some could argue we haven’t had a summer yet.

‘‘We have had situations other times of year on a sunny day. Temperatures really warm up inside a closed car.

‘‘A number of people are able to sort out the situation right away if the animal’s not too distressed but if they get heatstroke, it can very quickly spiral where you get multiple organ shut down and it’s a very serious situation.

A dog found in a car drooling and semi-collapsed should be taken out of the car and water should be poured over its head and rubbed into its coat to get water on to its skin, Andersen said.

Dogs control their temperature by panting, unlike humans who perspire to cool down. ’’The dog’s natural cooling processes become so ineffective in these conditions that it just can’t cope.’’

Andersen said avoiding the risk of giving your canine heat stroke was as simple as preparation and awareness.

‘‘It’s partly about planning trips so you’re not going to be in a situation where the dog has to stay in the hot car while you’re doing some other errand.

‘‘Be aware that those short little trips, whipping into the supermarket, are prone to delay with distraction.’’

Leave all the windows open ‘‘so there could be good airflow’’ through the car and wide enough for the dog to put its head out.

‘‘If you’ve got a bit of a twitty dog that might try to squeeze through the gap, that could be a problem.’’

Andersen suggested taking two litres of water on trips to avoid dogs becoming dehydrated.