Local officials warn of heat dangers to pets

Animal care and control officials want to make sure pet owners don't forget about their furry friends during this week's intense heat wave.

Cedar Rapids Animal Control officers have fielded an average of two to three reports a day of pets locked in hot cars.

Iowa City animal control officers over the weekend issued a ticket to a woman on suspicion of animal neglect after officers said she left her small dog locked in an “extremely hot” black SUV for at least 25 minutes outside the Hy-Vee at 1720 Waterfront Drive.

A black Labrador died last week in Iowa City after construction workers found it in apparent distress from the heat and brought it into the Iowa City Animal Care and Adoption Center, said Misha Goodman, the shelter's director. A check of the dog's temperature showed 110 degrees, and Goodman said the animal was euthanized because of brain damage.

“We were shocked he was able to walk through the door,” Goodman said. “His tongue was purple. It was an obvious heat stroke.”

No one was charged in that case because authorities weren't able to track down the dog's owner. But, Goodman said, she believes the dog was either left in a vehicle or outdoors in the oppressive heat too long.

“People just don't understand,” Goodman said. “Animals cannot cool their body systems, and they get overheated very quickly.”

With Eastern Iowa under an “excessive heat warning” through much of the week, Goodman said, animal owners need to remember not to leave their pets in vehicles without the air conditioning running, not to leave them outdoors for too long and to limit their physical activity.

“People like to jog and exercise with their animals,” Goodman said. “Lots of times, they don't realize their animals are in distress.”

Iowa City animal control officers during the summer respond to an average of one call a day about an animal in a hot car or suffering from an apparent heat stroke, Goodman said. The department so far this season has issued three citations for animal abuse related to heat.

“People just don't understand how very, very important it is not to travel with an animal in the car to go run errands,” Goodman said.

The 30-year-old Iowa City woman who was ticketed Sunday outside Hy-Vee after witnesses called police to report the overheating dog reportedly left one window cracked a few inches, according to police. That wasn't enough to keep the vehicle's temperature from rising to dangerous levels during the approximate 25 minutes that the dog was left inside, according to a police report.

“The heat index at the time was 119,” an officer wrote in the report. “The inside of the vehicle was radiating heat greatly hotter than the air temp.”

The dog survived and was returned to its owner.

But not all animals are so lucky, Goodman said.