It’s the middle of July here in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, where temps and humidity levels are usually at their highest. We’ve all heard about it, but does it ever really sink in: kids and dogs being left in cars on hot days, often resulting in fatalities.

Many of us have dogs who absolutely love car rides and would give up a week’s worth of treats just to ride along with their owners–even if just for a brief ride up the street. Sometimes, though, those brief rides turn out to be a bit longer when it’s another errand here and another errand there. Then you make that final stop at Target, and we all knows what happens at Target: you stop in for toothpaste and come out 45 minutes later with $200 less in your wallet! It’s these types of trips that can get you into trouble when you’re out and about with Fido. You don’t mean to take long, but even 10 minutes is too much. The graphic below is from the AVMA website and shows you just what happens during those 10 minutes (not to mention what can happen during that aforementioned 45-minute trip to Target!). The study mentioned in this AVMA article found that “cracking” the windows had very little effect on cooling down the car.

So, please, leave your pets at home during the summer! It gets hot in Oak Creek! We’d love to see you, but we don’t want to see you at the veterinarian for these reasons!

Estimated Vehicle Interior Air Temperature v. Elapsed Time
Elapsed time Outside Air Temperature (F)
70 75 80 85 90 95
0 minutes 70 75 80 85 90 95
10 minutes 89 94 99 104 109 114
20 minutes 99 104 109 114 119 124
30 minutes 104 109 114 119 124 129
40 minutes 108 113 118 123 128 133
50 minutes 111 116 121 126 131 136
60 minutes 113 118 123 128 133 138
> 1 hour 115 120 125 130 135 140
Table courtesy Jan Null, CCM; Department of Geosciences, San Francisco State University

Infographic source: spca.bc.ca/pet-care/health-safety/dogs-in-hot-cars.html