The four dogs in Florida who died in a hot car while their owner was having lunch. The Ontario pup whose death was the second that his dog walker was responsible for. The one in Texas who succumbed to heatstroke after being left chained in 102-degree heat. With summer barely underway, PETA has already been inundated with heart-breaking reports of dogs dying of heat-related causes. Every one of them was preventable. Dogs deserve better.
Warm weather brings a wealth of opportunities for outdoor fun with our dogs. But fun can turn fatal when the weather turns hot.
When the temperature is 86 degrees, asphalt can reach a sizzling 135. That’s hot enough to fry a pepper — or a paw. After one minute of contact, dogs’ sensitive foot pads can be burned, blistered and permanently damaged. Sidewalks and roadways can also reflect heat onto dogs’ bodies, and without the ability to sweat to cool themselves, they can quickly suffer from heatstroke.
