Despite all the warnings issued each year – sadly there are still people who leave their pets inside cars or on the back of a ute during warm days.
It’s not only an offence to leave a pet in a hot vehicle and offenders will be fined, but it’s also incredibly dangerous for the animal - causing suffering and can lead to death.
The facts are clear:
Inside a car on a sunny day, the temperature is likely to be double the outside temperature. Even within 10 minutes at an outside temperature of 24 degrees, the interior of the car can reach 38-40 degrees.
Even when parked in the shade with the windows partially open, temperatures inside the car can reach 31 degrees in a very short time.
It takes less than 10 minutes for dogs to be affected by heat stroke.
Signs of heat stroke in dogs include quick panting, distressed and agitated behaviour, weakness and muscle tremors, and disorientation or sudden collapse.
Animals just can’t cope with these temperatures- they can’t cool themselves down, they are trapped with nowhere to escape the heat and they can’t pant fast enough, so their core temperature rises and they quickly become heat stressed which may lead to death.
Dogs travelling on the back of utes in the sun can quickly dehydrate or even die from heat stress. Ute trays made of metal will heat up quickly and could easily burn dogs' paws. A fixed canopy to provide shade, and insulating material on the tray back should be used.
Dogs kept in cages on the back of a vehicle are also at risk and must have adequate ventilation especially when the vehicle is not moving.
Animals can die in vehicles in warmer/sunny weather. Pets should never be left unattended inside or on the back of a vehicle on a sunny, warm day - not even for a few minutes. The consequences for an animal happen quickly and can be severe.
For more information about Dog Welfare regulations see https://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2018/0050/latest/whole.html#LMS22838
