German shepherds overheat in car, die - Page 2

With statistics like these, how can anybody leave a dog in a car to cook to death, let alone someone who works at a vets office and should know better?
Windows open or not - this shouldnt of happened in the first place.


http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7631

On 16 cloud-free days in Northern California, the team measured a car's inside temperature at 5 minute intervals for one hour post-parking. Ambient temperatures on the study days ranged from 22°C (71.6F) to 35°C (95F).

They found that, regardless of outside air temperature, the car heated up at a similar rate - gaining 80% of its final temperature within 30 minutes. Cars that started out comfortable 22°C (71.6F), for example, rocketed to over 47°C (116.6F) after 60 minutes in the sun. And keeping the windows open a crack hardly slowed the rise at all.

http://ggweather.com/heat/

Average elapsed time and temperature rise

* 10 minutes ~ 19 deg F
* 20 minutes ~ 29 deg F
* 30 minutes ~ 34 deg F
* 60 minutes ~ 43 deg F
* 1 to 2 hours ~ 45-50 deg F

“Cracking” the windows had little effect

http://www.mydogiscool.com/

You can print flyers at this site to leave on a car if you notice a dog inside

This news paper tells a total diffrent story. Seems like she forgot the dog were in the truck. 

http://www.freep.com/article/20090811/NEWS04/908110341/1006/Macomb-County-news-briefs--Deaths-of-dogs-in-pickup-probed

I do leave my dogs in the car but I have a remote start so after I leave them before I enter where I"m going I remote start it.
All windows are up and the AC is running.  It'll only run for 15 minutes though so I make it quick.  If I'm in longer I go out and check them and start it again.

How heartbreaking, but I agree DebiSue on all counts.

If I read this correctly, this is the back of a truck - way different story. Notihng like the inside of a car.

I have a white truck with a white fiberglass camper top and two long windoors. Got the truck because you CAN leave the dogs in the back with the flippers open in the direct sun in the heat and it is not any hotter than it is outside.  This experience is based on several years of having the dogs in the South Carolina summer heat and it is just fine.  Did this after having constant challenges with an open SUV which did require me to dance on my head to keep cool.

But someone did do that to me (close the flippers) once because the dog was barking. And I read the riot act to them and was furious. Dog wears a bark collar now. And now that this has happened, I am thinking of maybe coming up with a way to lock the windows open somehow. The problem is not the set up.l The problem is other people.  The only blame this woman should face is for not realizing that other people can be stupid or cruel.

This took me a long time to develop any kind of comfort zone with this but sometimes we simply have no or limited shade to park the dogs. Always someone is keeping an eye out and there are thermometers on the crates as well. Typically fans are set up but not always.  

It is a reality for working SAR dogs to have to be left in vehicles during training and even during real searches where that particular dog may not be working at the time and may have to be crated like that for hours. We do keep an eye out for each others dogs and I am going to print these articles to share with the team.

So, I can totally believe what this person claimed

i got an e-mail about this from the gsd diversified forum, which i have posted on in the past. however the version i got was slightly different, it said they went in taco bell......so that is interesting that it is different. seeing that the story mentions it is an animal hospital, i personally would have brought the dogs in. i am not here to bash, and it is a sad, hard way to learn a lesson. i leave my dogs home if it is over 70 degrees. i don't have a driver's license, but even walking around, they get so hot. sad, sad, sad, for the people involved. i can imagine the feelings they must be going thru now. i am sure if they knew the outcome before it happened they would have prevented it. what a tragedy. anybody who knows them and reads this please tell them i am so sorry for their loss.

It would get hot if all she had was sliders or quarter vents.

For anyone who gets a truck some caps are avaliable in "windoors with sliders" - I think it gives you the best of both worlds

I could not get that option in a camper top that would fit my truck so windoors trumped sliders.

Here is an example of the dual set up.

http://www.bajataco.com/Camper2.html

It is possible to keep dogs in relative comfort during heat spells.

Below is a letter I wrote the the GSSCC magazine regarding our Canadian National Championships, held during an historic and unprecedented heat wave in British Columbia, Canada:

The GSSCC Championship and Sieger Show held in Chilliwack, BC, from July 30th through August 2nd this year was a real showcase event--well organized and well run throughout.

The weather was extremely hot, breaking all records for this area, even over 40 degrees C. at times. We are certainly not used to these temperatures in BC, and one would be tempted to think that competitors might not be prepared for it and not on top of dog safety issues with the heat. I only say this because I have read and heard of German Shepherd events in some places in North America (won't say where and when, but you've probably all heard too) where event officials, SPCA and police in attendance had to break vehicle windows and, tragically, where there once was even a puppy death due to heat prostration.

At our Championships, all over the parking lot, one could see people with jugs of water, hoses cooling down dogs, wading pools for the dogs, reflective space blankets on many vehicles and all kinds of fans in open vehicles. Obviously, the open vehicles everywhere showed a greater concern by dog owners/competitors for animal safety than personal security.

I was at the event every day, all day, both at practice and during the trial and show. I never heard, or became aware of, even one complaint of an animal in distress. Well done, GSSCC!!!

Connie Doan
Mission, BC

There is something wrong with a person who thinks it is okay to breed dogs without being able to properly house them. Shame on the GP's for allowing such conditions to exist as well. This person should not own dogs, period. Their lethal judgment on the care of dogs is now all the proof anyone needs.