As temperatures climb, the provincial government and the BCSPCA are teaming up to try and get pet owners to stop leaving their animals in hot cars.
This year, they’re taking the awareness campaign to social media with the #HotPetsNotCool hashtag.
North Cariboo SPCA Branch Manager Jamie Walsh says pets left in vehicles is a perennial problem.
“It’s a yearly problem. Not just during the hot summer months, we run into it during the winter as well when the temperatures drop. But during the summer, it’s quite prevalent around our city and the province.”
“It takes as quick as 10 minutes for the changes to start to happen that can cause permanent damage to the dogs,” says Angela Lotz, Executive Director of the Prince George Humane Society. “So we shouldn’t be leaving dogs in hot cars, under any circumstances.”
Both Lotz and Walsh encourage dog owners to leave their pets at home while running errands in warm weather. Leaving your pet in a hot car can result in animal cruelty charges, including fines of up to $75,000 and two years in jail, but Walsh says many pet owners believe they’re doing their dogs a favour.
“They really care for their animals. Sometimes people just feel that it’s safer to bring the animals with them than it is to leave them at home unattended. They love their pets and they just want them to be a part of them all the time and bring them everywhere they go but they’re not realizing they’re putting them at risk in a very brief period of time. It doesn’t take long for them to get sick at all.”
She says 10-20 minutes is all it takes to kill your pet, even if you park in the shade and crack the windows.
Lotz thinks municipalities should consider introducing bylaws that would see pet owners find for leaving their pets in the car during the summer.
“I think that’s a great way to start to make the changes. In spite of all the education that’s out there, people are still leaving their dogs in hot cars. So, having to look at extreme measures like fining people, I think is something [cities] should look at and consider doing.”
Lotz says a couple of BC municipalities, including Kelowna, have introduced bylaws to hold pet owners accountable when they leave their pets unattended in the heat.
“The Prince George Humane Society’s actually had discussions around possibly looking at creating an option for people on weekend where they can come and leave their dogs for an hour or two while they’re doing their shopping,” Lotz says.
They hope they can offer the service some day. In the meantime, she applauds stores, like Home Depot, that she says allow pet owners to bring their pets with them to shop on hot days.
Walsh says they’re hoping #HotPetsNotCool will catch people’s attention.
“Social media is a very big outlet for raising awareness in any sense or form. Everybody’s on social media and just giving that hashtag provides a direct link to information and health and wellness for the animals.”
Check out #HotPetsNotCool on your favourite social media platform or visit the SPCA’s website for more information on the signs and symptoms of heatstroke in your pet.
