The Salmon Arm RCMP is reminding all pet owners to leave their pets at home or to take them while running errands instead of keeping them in unattended vehicles.
Police said they have received multiple reports of dogs stuck in hot cars in parking lots.
“Vehicles can get excessively hot very fast and can quickly turn potentially fatal for a dog or pet stuck inside,” Cst. Andrew Hodges of the Salmon Arm RCMP said.
He added that leaving a window open “a crack” or even several inches is not sufficient.
The BC SPCA said it can be life-threatening for a dog if they are left in a hot vehicle, even for a short amount of time.
“Temperatures inside a car parked in direct sunlight can more than double in minutes,” the BC SPCA said on its website. “Dogs can’t release heat by sweating, as humans do, so their internal body temperature rises more quickly.”
The BC SPCA said it is strongly recommended to contact the appropriate authorities to get an animal out of a hot vehicle instead of attempting to break a window.
