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Date Submitted July 5, 2025
Submitted by: Taylor Wills
Re: “Keeping Your Four-Legged Family Safe: Summer Heat and Fourth of July Fireworks Pose Serious Risks to Pets in Calhoun County” (June 29)
Dear Editor:
Thank you for the timely reminder of the dangers that high temperatures, hot pavement, and fireworks pose to dogs. It’s also important for everyone to be vigilant in protecting dogs from suffering heatstroke or dying in hot cars.
On a 70-degree day, the temperature inside a parked car can hit 99 degrees in 20 minutes. On a 90-degree day, it can soar to 109 degrees in 10 minutes. Parking in the shade and opening the windows makes virtually no difference. Without the ability to sweat to cool themselves, dogs must rely primarily on panting to expel heat and maintain their normal body temperature of 100.5 to 102.5 degrees. But when the temperature around them nears 100 degrees, it becomes impossible for them to shed heat. Their internal temperature increases until they succumb to heatstroke. In some cases, even dogs who’ve been rescued were already in organ failure.
If an animal is left in a vehicle, every second matters. Witnesses should call authorities and have the owner paged at the nearest businesses. If they are slow to respond and the animal shows any signs of heatstroke—heavy panting, heavy salivation, lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, urinating blood, collapse, seizures, or loss of consciousness—remove them from the vehicle, get them into shade or preferably air conditioning, give them water to drink, wet them down with tepid (not cold) water, and wait for police. You may be their only hope for survival.
Sincerely,
Taylor Wills
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