ocpets.freedomblogging / CC

… and, elsewhere, another dog cooks to death in a hot car.

Common sense steers most adults clear of certain threats, like smoking in bed, eating rancid leftovers, and leaving the kiddies in the car while you chug beers and ogle strippers. A man in Florida apparently didn't get the memo on that last one.

Yes, we're disgusted. But are we surprised? Not really, because PETA and KIDS AND CARS, an organization we teamed up with last year, both receive countless complaints regarding dogs and children who are left unattended in hot cars.

According to KIDS AND CARS, hyperthermia—a rapid and often fatal rise in body temperature—is the third-leading cause of death in children in vehicular incidents that are unrelated to traffic.

And PETA receives alarming reports of dogs who succumb to heatstroke within minutes when people fail to realize how little time it takes for a car interior to heat up. On a 78-degree day, the temperature inside a car can climb to 97 degrees in just 10 minutes. Dogs can only cool themselves by panting, so they can quickly succumb to heatstroke and suffer brain damage or death.

Rolling down the car windows slightly does not offer adequate relief.

Please remind everyone you know that it's always best to leave the children and the dogs at home with the A/C (and a sitter) on "errand days" as well as "stripper nights."

Posted by Karin Bennett

PETA and KIDS AND CARS are joining forces to raise awareness about the fact that a hot car is no place for any animal—whether a dog or a human child. Through this partnership, PETA and KIDS AND CARS hope to prevent many deaths each year.

KIDS AND CARS, a national nonprofit organization, is dedicated to preventing injuries and deaths of children in nontraffic, motor-vehicle–related events, including being left alone in a hot car. For years, PETA has been issuing hot-weather alerts and urging television and radio stations to broadcast summer advisories about why animals must never be left in parked cars. Now, PETA's alerts will also include information about KIDS AND CARS and why children need protection from the heat. In turn, KIDS AND CARS will include information about PETA's heat-wave alerts in its news releases.

Because dogs don't perspire as humans do and can only sweat through their footpads and cool themselves by panting, they can succumb to heatstroke in just 15 minutes. Human children are also very susceptible to heatstroke because their brains are not fully developed, so their body temperature cannot be regulated as efficiently as an adult's can.

If you see a dog (or a child) left alone in a car and there is enough time to do so, take down the car's color, model, make, and license-plate number and have the owner paged inside the store, or call local humane authorities or police right away. Do whatever is necessary to get the victim out of the car—his or her life may depend on it.

PETA's "Don't Let Your Dog Get Hot Under the Collar" leaflets can be placed on vehicles to remind people never to leave unattended animals inside cars (please make sure this is legal in your city first). Order or print yours today … and Sparky will thank you with grateful little puppy kisses.

Posted by Carrie Ann Harris