‘Dogs in Hot Car’ Reports on the Rise as Weather Heats Up

As temperatures increase, so to do the reports of animals in hot cars.

Wenatchee Valley Humane Society Development Officer Renee Parkins said a dog in a hot car can go from no distress to very distressed, or death, in just six minutes.

"A lot of people will think, 'Well, I'm just running into the store, I'm just running in here really quick.' But those really quick trips can lengthen out a little bit, and those really quick trips can be completely deadly," explained Parkins.

Parkins added that, as a general rule, 70 degrees is when you're going to want to leave your dog out of the car, even if the windows are cracked.

If it's 80 degrees outside, the temperature inside of a car can heat up to 99 degrees in just 10 minutes.

If you see an animal in a hot car, contact Animal Care and Control or law enforcement and do not try to break into the vehicle yourself.