Reports of dogs in hot cars rising

Iowans trying to keep cool during what the National Weather Service is calling the “most significant” heat wave the region has seen in five years are going to great lengths to limit their time outdoors, wear light-fitting clothing and stay well hydrated.

Animal care and control officials want to make sure pet owners don't forget to do the same for their furry family members.

Cedar Rapids animal control officers have fielded an average of two to three reports a day since the heat wave began earlier this week of pets locked in hot cars. Officers Tuesday morning, in fact, were out on such a report, although the dog wasn't hurt and the owner wasn't ticketed.

Iowa City animal control officers over the weekend did issue 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.

And, last week in Iowa City, a black Labrador died 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 either was 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 about two and a half inches, according to police.

That wasn't enough to keep the vehicle's temperature from rising to dangerous levels during the at least 25 minutes that the dog was left inside, according to a police report.

“The heat index at the time was given at 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, identified by police as Harmoni Anderson. But, Goodman said, many animals aren't that lucky.

The owner of another black lab in Johnson County brought the dog into Iowa City's Bright Eyes and Bushy Tails Veterinary Hospital earlier this month after finding it dead near a pond, said Alinda Buckingham, a doctor at the clinic.

“They wanted to speak to someone about a cause,” Buckingham said. “I suspect it was a heat stroke.”

When temperatures are forecast to be so high – paired with the humidity, this week's heat index will hit values of 105 to 115, according to the National Weather Service – Buckingham said many pet owners are careful not to leave their pets in hot cars.

But they don't use the same caution when it comes to exercising their dogs in the heat or simply leaving them outdoors, she said. The clinic treats dogs left in the back yard without water or allowed to overexert themselves at the dog park.

“I don't think people realize how easy it is for dogs to over exert themselves,” Buckingham said. “I see people going for a jog in the afternoon hours with their dog, and it makes me shiver.”