Dr. Ernie Ward
Have you ever wondered how hot it gets inside a parked car? I did. A couple of weeks ago I decided to lock myself in a parked car for thirty minutes to find out how it feels to be a pet left behind on a warm day. I filmed my little experiment and uploaded it to YouTube, not thinking much about it. Turns out, the video got a lot of people’s attention and received about 10,000 views in the first four days. I’d like to share with you a little of what I learned from pretending to be a pet left in a parked car on a warm summer day.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbOcCQ-y3OY&feature=share My reason for conducting this experiment wasn’t to place myself in danger; it was to experience the feelings of a helpless dog or cat subjected to such oppressive heat. I picked a 94°F, sunny and breezy day and left all four windows cracked about two inches. I’ve seen many dogs suffering from heat stroke placed in the exact same conditions. When you start, it seems that it wouldn’t get that hot, but it does. It really does.
Five minutes after locking the doors, my thermometer was already hitting 100 degrees. The first thing I noticed was how still the air was inside the car. This was unexpected because I could see trees swaying and yet none of that cooling breeze managed to seep into my car. I began to sweat profusely as my body attempted to suppress a rising body temperature. A dog or cat can’t sweat to cool themselves so they are at a distinct disadvantage when stuck in a stifling auto.
I also wasn’t panicked or barking; I was basically sitting still. Imagine a nervous dog leaping front to back barking at passersby. That would get things cooking quickly.
By ten minutes the temperature inside was closing in on 106 degrees. By now I was drenched in sweat and it would only worsen. At the twenty minute mark my thermometer was reading nearly 112. My breathing and heart rate were quickening as my body ramped up its cooling strategies. I began to feel tired and everything in my body was screaming, “Get out of the car!” I can only imagine how powerless and suffocating it would feel as a pet that didn’t understand what was happening, only that they were dying a lousy death.
By the time I ended my experiment at thirty minutes, the temperature had reached 117 degrees – very dangerous for pets or people. For me the take-home message was not only how dangerous it is to leave a pet in a car – at any time – but how horrible a pet must feel when placed in this predicament. I’ve seen far too many cases of pets left in cars unattended to believe these are rare events. Maybe my little video will make someone think before leaving their pet in a car “just for a minute.” Check it out and share with your pet-loving friends. You may help save a life.
http://YouTube.com/DrErnieWard.