GEM Motoring Assist is encouraging pet owners to ensure their animals are safe and comfortable on car journeys this week. The call comes as humid conditions will send temperatures soaring as high as 34C in the coming few days.
GEM road safety officer Neil Worth warns that it’s both dangerous and illegal to leave an animal in a hot vehicle. “If the dog becomes ill or dies, the owner is likely to face a charge of animal cruelty under the Animal Welfare Act 2006,” he warns. “This offence can bring a prison sentence of up to six months in custody and/or a fine of up to £20,000.”
GEM has compiled a short checklist designed to ensure dogs stay safe and comfortable on car journeys:
- Leave your dog at home on warm days.
- If you do need to transport your dog, bring plenty of fresh drinking water, and a bowl. Ensure your dog is able to stay cool on a journey.
- Don’t let your dog travel unrestrained. Instead, use a proper travel basket or crate to create a safer space. Dog seatbelts and travel harnesses are also available.
- If you suggest the dog might be too hot, then you will need to stop somewhere safe and give him a good drink of water. Animals are unable to sweat in the way that humans can. Dogs cool themselves by panting and sweating through their paws, so if you have left your dog in the car on a hot day, it only takes a few minutes for him to succumb to the symptoms of heatstroke.
- If you suspect your dog is developing heatstroke on a journey, stop somewhere safe and take him into the shade or to somewhere cool. However, if signs of heat exhaustion become apparent (for example excessive thirst, heavy panting, rapid pulse, fever, vomiting, glazed eyes, dizziness), you should go straight to a veterinary surgeon.
- If you see a pet in a vehicle on a hot day, take immediate action. For example, if you’re in a supermarket, roadside service area or garden centre car park, note the car make, model, colour and registration number, then go inside and ask for an announcement to be made. If this doesn’t bring the owner out, or you’re in a location where finding the owner is impossible, then dial 999 and ask for the police.
Please, please don’t leave your pets in hot cars for any length of time. If it’s too hot for you in the car without air-con, it’s too hot for them.
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