Officials warn public of dangers after dog left in hot car

CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) — Police are raising alarms about rising temperatures and the dangers of hot vehicles after they rescued a dog from a hot car.

Clearwater Police said they got a call on Tuesday about a dog in a car at the Pier 60 parking lot.

They say the dog had been in the car for at least 30 to 40 minutes with no AC, the windows barely cracked and hot water.

Video credit: Clearwater Police Department

“Thankfully, I believe it was checked out and is okay, but if we hadn’t been called the circumstances could have been far worse,” said Rob Shaw, with Clearwater Police.

Veterinarians, like Dr. Lisa Soyka, said they see dogs coming in with heat stroke more and more each summer.

“It’s extremely dangerous, within 10 minutes the temperatures can rise over 100 degrees,” she said.

There are signs that she said people need to look out for.

“Excessive panting, collapse, if it’s end stage, they’re inappropriately bleeding out of their eyes, their mouth, their skin, and unfortunately, in the end, death,” Dr. Soyka said.

As it gets hotter Dr. Soyka said your pets should not be outside for a long time, even for an afternoon run or walk.

She said it’s better to take your dogs out on a stroll in the morning or evening.

They should never be left alone in a hot car, and Dr. Soyka said it’s heartbreaking to have to treat animals with heat stroke.

“Absolutely, if they would have spent hours at the beach, they would have unfortunately, probably come back to a dead dog,” she said.

Rob Shaw, with Clearwater Police, said the owner had paid for parking until 6, which means the dog would have been in the car for hours. She ended up being charged with animal cruelty.

“I believe our officer checked the temperature at the time, it was 89 degrees, and there was 68% humidity. So, inside the car it had to have been well over 100 degrees,” he said.

The owner is out on bond. Shaw said the dog was taken to get checked out and was placed in the care of animal control.

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