Dog dies after being left in hot car — just one of 30 calls since June 1 in Douglas County
Since June 1
By Olivia Young
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DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colorado (KCNC) — As CBS News Colorado’s Olivia Young found out, on a 93 degree day, the interior temperature of a car can go from 95 degrees Fahrenheit to 150 degrees in just 10 minutes.
It’s a common mistake that can be deadly to pets: briefly leaving them in the car during the summer.
“There’s always that mentality that I’m going to run a quick errand and I’ll be right back and that their car’s not going to get as hot as it actually does,” said Bryanna Munns, sergeant of animal law enforcement for Douglas County. “But cars can increase in temperature drastically in just a matter of minutes. Especially when we have these days with low cloud cover and it’s extremely hot.”
Temperatures in the car can rise quickly and cracking the windows doesn’t help.
“Anything over 100 degrees inside a vehicle for more than 10 minutes, you could be looking at heat stroking your animal,” said Munns.
Since June 1, Douglas County Animal Services has responded to over 30 calls about animals in hot cars. Munns says that’s right on par with what they saw last year.
“Typically what we do is try and take different temperatures from areas that might be cooler than others. And then we”ll just document as well the behaviors the dog is exhibiting,” said Munns, demonstrating taking the temperature of a car.
One of those 30 calls was a fatality.
“We did have an incident where a dog passed away in Castle Pines, the owner has been charged and that’s still just an ongoing case right now,” said Munns, “they’re extremely remorseful. It was, you know, reported to be completely accidental but it’s obviously still a tragic situation.”
That’s why Munns recommends never leaving your pet alone in the car.
“It’s better to have another adult or someone who’s responsible in the car with the AC running if you’re going to leave an animal in a vehicle,” said Munns.
If you see a pet in a hot car call 911 and, if possible, document the license plate.
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