Heat Deadly To Pets

The sweltering heat we`ve faced all week can be deadly... If the temperature outside is 93 degrees, after ten minutes, the temperature inside a car with the windows closed can rise to 106 degrees. After an hour, it can get as hot as 137 degrees. And many people forget how dangerous this is for their pets. News 4 Arkansas` Mike Hellgren provided some cooling tips for our 10pm newscast on Wednesday. The heat is especially hard on dogs--like this baby. Certain types of dogs shouldn`t be out in the heat at all. And most owners really mean well--but what`s alarming--are the humans who put these pets in danger of dying from the heat--on purpose. Like three cats that are the only survivors from an SUV parked in a hot Tennessee parking lot. Three dogs, a rat, and a ferret died. The owner faces nine counts of animal cruelty for leaving them there. "That`s an inferno in there for the dog, when you`re inside the store," says Kay Jordan with the Pulaski County Humane Society. Last month, someone placed kittens in a duct-taped box in the middle of a church parking lot in Little Rock. And someone dumped 17 puppies in the hot parking lot at the Pulaski County Humane Society`s shelter. "We get lots of calls every day from somebody frantic that they see a car parked with animals in it, and nobody`s there. The windows are maybe cracked a little bit," Jordan told Hellgren. Outside the blatant abuse cases, she says most pet owners don`t realize even a short exposure to the heat is deadly for some dogs. "Any dogs with smushed noses--like pugs, bulldogs, Boston Terriers, lhasas, shitzus," says Jordan. Doctor Sonya Lavergne is a vet. She says you`ll be able to tell when a dog`s reeling from heat exhaustion. "They drink lots of water--copious amounts of water. Sometimes, they start throwing the water up. They can`t even keep it down," Dr. Lavergne told Hellgren. She says walks should be short. Owners should carry water with them. "For whatever reason, they just may not be thinking how hot it can actually get," says Dr. Lavergne. And that can be just as deadly as the intentional abuse. Remember to watch the pads on your dogs paws. On hot pavement, they can heat up fast--and burn. You should also be careful when walking your dog at rest areas. Many have been sprayed with insecticides and other chemicals, which can be poisonous if an animal licks them off its paws. Also, antifreeze is attractive and deadly to animals. It tastes sweet to them, but it can crystallize their blood.