Even 60 Degrees Is Too Hot For Pets in Cars!

Some of you pet owners out there have probably wondered when seeing a dog trapped in a car on a warm day: How hot is too hot for pets in an enclosed vehicle? Turns out, it's a much lower temperature than you would think. Read on.

We've all heard the tragic stories, the most recent headline read "7 SHOW DOGS DIE IN HOT VAN". These are the ones that made the news; no doubt countless others have not.

The points I want to make here are:

1. It doesn't have to be hot outside to be dangerous inside a car. 2. The temperature spike happens quick. 2. Cracking windows doesn't help.

It turns out that a car can turn deadly for pets on a winter day -- with an outside temperature of only 60 degrees! This article says "Even if it is a comfortable 60 degrees outside, a closed-car interior can reach 100 degrees on a sunny day." Another says "Even on a mild day at 73 degrees outside, an SUV can heat up to 100 degrees in ten minutes and to 120 degrees in just 30 minutes. At 90 degrees outside, the interior of a vehicle can heat up to 160 degrees within several minutes." Testing this out is not rocket science, in the video below we placed a thermometer inside a car and saw it spike to over 130; I have personally witnessed 155 degrees on a thermometer inside a car.

A friend of mine passed this Stanford research article to me:

Which says in part:

P.S.: It's possible for it to be too hot for a dog in your yard too. Tragically, 19 dogs died last week in the Phoenix area.