Keep Your Pets Cool and Safe this Summer 

First things first: the car. There’s lots of FALSE INFORMATION about the dangers of leaving pets and people in closed cars on hot days. One post warned, “If it’s 90 degrees, the temperature in a closed car can reach more than 100 in an hour.”  

Unfortunately, they didn’t get it right! The temperature in a closed vehicle can reach 140 to 165 degrees within an hour. If you leave your pet, baby or elderly relative in a vehicle on a hot day, it may be too late after an hour. It happens fast, and it gets much hotter than people realize.  

When it comes to leaving pets or people in cars on hot days: just don’t do it! Here’s a real-time video we shot two years ago that proves what happens in a closed vehicle. The temperature went from 75 to 118 in one minute and 12 seconds.  That’s 43 degrees in 72 seconds. Watch here.   

Going places with your pet 

A dog can overheat at the beach as much as anywhere else. If you’re going to the beach for the day, leave your dog home. If your dog is coming with you, make sure there is shade, water, a bowl, and something other than hot sand to lie on.  

Dogs can burn their paws on the sand, sidewalks, asphalt parking lots, brick surfaces, or at a street fair. An easy way to tell if it’s too hot to walk your dog is to hold your hand on the ground. If it’s too hot for your hand, it’s too hot for your dog’s paws.  

Go hiking on a trail or on grass. The ground will be cooler. Remember to bring water and something that your dog can drink from. Also, go early in the day or later in the evening when it’s likely to be cooler.  

Everyone loves a picnic. Your pet, maybe not so much.  

Picnics are fun, but they can be dangerous for pets. It’s hot, they beg, and they bark. You may want to take your pet to a picnic, but it’s actually safer at home. Emergency hospitals treat dogs and cats who burn their paws on hot coals, touch their noses to grills, choke on chicken bones, and swallow kebab skewers.  

And there’s the noise. 

More pets run away on the 4th of July than any other day of the year. Fireworks are loud and they echo. No matter where pets run, there’s more noise. 

DO NOT leave pets outdoors…even in a fenced yard. A small dog can climb a tall fence if it’s scared enough. Keep pets indoors in a secure area. Turn on the radio or TV to mask the noise. Some pets need medication to deal with the stress. There’s still time to talk to your vet.  

Many pets escape by pulling off their collars. If they don’t have a microchip, they have no identification. Use a collar AND a microchip with current, accurate information.  

If your pet does run away on the 4th of July, in the city of San Diego, call the San Diego Humane Society. For the rest of the county, contact the agency that handles animal services for your area.  Be patient. It’s their busiest day of the year. Post a notice with a photo of you and your pet together on social media. Give contact information, but not so much that you set yourself up to be scammed. Enroll your pet in the Petco Love Lost program. It’s a simple way to be proactive should your pet ever go missing.  

What if you find a pet? Be careful. It’s probably scared. If it has a collar and identification, contact the owner. It might have a microchip. Come to Rancho Coastal to use the free microchip scanner located just outside our gate. Then, keep the pet in an cool, enclosed area until the owner can respond.  

By following a few common-sense tips, summer should be fun for both you and your pets.