Czernohorszky/Persy: "Dog alone in the car in summer is a no-go!"

2023-06-18 09:12:29

The danger of heat is still underestimated – 15 ads in Vienna in 2022

Vienna (OTS/RK) – Just a quick trip to the supermarket or doing something for a short time – your four-legged friend can certainly wait in the car for a few minutes, right? The answer is clearly: No! In summer temperatures, the heat in the car quickly becomes life-threatening for the animal occupants. What many people don’t know is that the indoor climate in parking garages can quickly reach dangerous levels.

“We urgently recommend all errands during this time of the year where the dog cannot or should not be taken along without planning the four-legged friend,” appealed Vienna’s animal welfare councilor Jürgen Czernohorszky and animal welfare ombudswoman Eva Persy. “Leaving the dog alone in the car in the summer is an absolute no-go.”

From an outside temperature of 20 degrees Celsius, the car can become a deadly trap for four-legged friends. With the 30 degrees that are now usual in summer – in 2022 there were 31 such hot days in Vienna – the temperature in the car reaches the red zone after 10 minutes at the latest. “In concrete terms, this means: there is a danger to life here! The car becomes the oven. The dog is at risk of cardiovascular failure,” warns Eva Persy. Even if the animal, which is still alive, is supposedly rescued from the vehicle in good time and treated immediately by a veterinarian, around half of the patients do not survive the heat stroke. Death can occur up to 48 hours after the incident.

In Vienna, the animal welfare ombudsman (TOW) dealt with 15 reports in 2022 due to dogs being left in the car. In summer, the animal welfare experts at the TOW also receive calls and inquiries from concerned citizens almost every day. “It is striking that more and more dogs are being left in cars in parking garages. Please do not assume that it is automatically cooler in parking garages than outside! Here, too, we have had cases in which the development of heat was life-threatening for the dogs,” emphasizes Persy.