Review of Pets in Parked Cars

I think Aaron Bonnette brings up a highly under publicized topic about animal cruelty - people leaving their dogs in parked cars in our taxing Texas heat (here is a link to his article). Awareness needs to be spread about just how little time it takes for a car to heat up to tremendous temperatures that are usually fatal for dogs. As Aaron points out, dogs can do very little to cool themselves since their bodies do not sweat, and cracking a window for your pup does almost nothing to keep the temperature in your car down. Death by heat exhaustion is horrible and no creature should have to suffer it. Don't leave your dog in the car, even "for just a minute."

I think Aaron did a great job with this article, giving us some background knowledge on the current punishments for this form of animal abuse and what the effects of high temperatures can have on a dog. He also cites Examiner for a few quick facts on the speed of which car temperatures can rise. He seems to have done his research and his article was well written.

Although I agree with Aaron that Texas needs stricter punishments for leaving an animal in a hot car, I think that we need to raise more awareness about this issue. Most people who see a dog in a car will just walk on by, which I can assume is only because they do not know how dangerous it is for the animal. Perhaps if people knew the amount of suffering the dog was going through, or that it's life was on the line, they would be more likely to call police.