Saturday, July 6, 2019
Dog Days of Summer
As the thermostat continues to climb this summer, be sure your pets stay cool.
If you take your pet out for a ride in this heat and have to leave them unattended just remember, although it may feel like only a couple minutes in the car, it can quickly become “Too Hot for Spot!” After only 10 minutes the temperature inside a car can exceed 120 degrees – even with the windows rolled down three inches!
Have you wondered what to do as an animal suffers in a locked car? There's a definitive answer. Backed by the protections of a law that Senator Mark Montigny, Representative Lori Ehrlich and I sponsored, "An Act Preventing Animal Suffering and Death." It allows citizens and officers to free animals confined in a locked car after making reasonable efforts to locate the vehicle’s owner.
This law not only provides immunity from criminal or civil liability for those who take actions to release a trapped animal, it also sets penalties, up to $500, and possible criminal animal cruelty charges for owners who neglect animals in vehicles during extreme temperatures.
In the past several years the legislature has taken major steps to strengthen our animal welfare laws. We still have work to do, but there should be no doubt about our commitment to doing it.
