On a 70 degree day in just 10 minutes the interior temperature of your car can rise by 20 degrees even with the windows cracked open, making for a dangerous situation for children and pets.

PAWS and More Director Amber Talbot says leaving a dog in a parked car for 10 minutes on a 90 degree day, like those recently recorded, is not a good situation, “It would be fatal. I mean, a 10-minute car ride unattended, left alone would be absolutely fatal at that degree.”

Talbot adds if you see a dog in distress in a parking lot be that animal’s voice and try to find the owner. She suggests going to a manager of the store and asking them to page the owner of that vehicle, “Locate that owner of that vehicle may be a little bit faster, but if that is proving to be taking too much time, even five or 10 minutes, you might be better off calling the non-emergency number to the safety center that 653-2107 number. And it might be better off just having an officer come to unlock and get the dog out of the vehicle.”

Signs of heat stress include heavy panting, glazed eyes, a rapid pulse, and vomiting. When trying to cool down a pet, do so gradually by putting cool towels under their legs and giving them fresh water to drink.