Too Hot For Spot

Have you found yourself in a hot car, uncomfortable, and stuck in traffic? Of course you have and it’s miserable. Imagine that you had no ability to use air-conditioning, roll down the window or even to leave the vehicle – that’s what happens to hundreds of pets each year and that sometimes ends in tragedy.

The Animal Rescue League of Boston (ARL) came to the State House today to join with Governor Charlie Baker to kickoff of the “Too Hot for Spot” campaign with a demonstration showing the dangers of leaving animals unattended inside locked vehicles. After only 10 minutes the temperature inside the car was greater than 120 degrees – even with the windows rolled down three inches!

I co-sponsored a law to help save the lives of pets in these circumstances, it is now illegal to confine an animal in a vehicle where temperatures reach dangerous extremes. If you see an animal in danger, have legal immunity to break a window and rescue pets in a locked vehicle.

As the thermostat continues to climb this summer, be sure your pets stay cool. Just because it may feel like only a couple minutes in the car, it can quickly become “Too Hot for Spot!”