Kaitlyn Turner Staff Writer

Everyone knows that feeling of just getting into the car on a hot summer day and thinking they can’t breathe. Well, that happens to pets too.

Many people love taking their dogs out with them, but not every store will allow them. People then think, “I’m only going to be in there for a few minutes. My pet will be fine.”

However, on a 75 degree day, a car’s internal temperature, even with the windows cracked, can get up to 100 degrees in 10 minutes. If the interior is a dark color, it could get over 200 degrees in the same short amount of time.

Dogs, as well as cats, and even children, are left in hot cars too often. This occurrence can be damaging, or even fatal. Every year, dogs die from being left in cars for “just a minute.” Even if it doesn’t happen to be fatal one time, leaving dogs in the oven that your car becomes during the summer can cause brain damage or heatstroke in 15 minutes or less.

Heatstroke symptoms that passerby may be able to spot include restlessness, excessive thirst, thick saliva, heavy panting, lethargy, lack of appetite, dark tongue, rapid heartbeat, fever, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, and lack of coordination.

Although it is a common belief among animal lovers that anybody who does something so cruel and actually-legally criminal, deserves to have their windows smashed in, in most cases only emergency responders have that kind of jurisdiction.

If one sees a dog, cat, or any other animal left in a hot car unattended, they should go into whatever business the car is at and ask them to page the owner of the car. It is important to give a good description of the vehicle. Or, if they’d prefer, contact the local police and wait at the scene until they arrive.

If it’s a severe emergency and you know that the animal needs to get out immediately, there’s nothing stopping one from taking their own steps to remove the animal from the vehicle. However, just know that you can face charges, including having to pay for any destruction you cause if the owner of the vehicle decides to press charges.

No living thing, especially one that somebody says they “love,” should be subjected to being baked alive. Leaving your pet in a car to suffer extreme heat is no better than abusing it; both are animal cruelty.

Animals aren’t like humans. They can’t just call for help or open a door and leave if they’re in a bad situation. Pets rely on their owners to keep them safe and cared for, just like a child. If you wouldn’t leave your child in a sweltering hot car, you shouldn’t leave your pet there either.