Leave the Doggone Dog at Home

You may think I'm some sort of meanie who doesn't like dogs. Nope. Just the opposite. It's summer and we have had horrible heat and humidity. People are leaving dogs in their cars "for just a few minutes" with the windows open.

BAD IDEA. This just doesn't work. The dog has fur, remember? And the dog can't open the door to get out if it gets too hot. And it gets too hot very quickly. It can get to 120 degrees. Having the window open isn't enough to keep a car cool. And what you think is only going to be a minute turns out to be longer as you:

- wait in line behind someone with 30 coupons
- run in to a high school friend and spend 20 minutes catching up
- witness a crime and are detained by police to give a statement
- faint because you overheated
- are in an elevator that gets stuck between floors
- etc.

And then the dog dies.

If you think it will work out just this one time or just for a few minutes, try this experiment. Park your car in the sun, roll the windows up most of the way and You sit in the car. Maybe even bring a thermometer with you. How long do you think you could last before you bail out? Now remember, the dog has fur and isn't capable of bailing out.

So, please, leave Fido or Fifi at home, with food and water, and in a cool place during the summer. I'm sure it's what Stephen would do. It's the right thing to do.

For more info, read this at The Weather Channel.
or
Read this at Dog Breed Info.