As the temperatures rise, animal lovers have taken to the streets with temperature guns in hopes of saving animals locked in hot cars.
The Associated Press reported the deaths of five dogs in hot cars in Oregon, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
To avoid these fatal events, activists have come to rely on a temperature gun, which measures the temperature from outside the car. In the city of Los Angeles, animal control officers are using them to help save pets lives, as well as, prosecute dog owners when the cops or animal control authorities arrive too late.
"People running errands are the most common offenders, but they aren't the only ones," Jim Cherrette, Los Angeles Police Department Officer told reporters. "The homeless will keep pets in cars. Sometimes people will have to move into an apartment where they can't have a pet, so they will keep it in a car. It's more a crime of negligence than malice."
About 14 states in the U.S. specifically prohibit leaving an animal in a confined vehicle if it endangers an animal's life. As per the Animal Legal and Historical Centre at Michigan State University College of Law, the rest of the states handle deaths and injury under animal cruelty statutes.
"Heatstroke affects every organ in the body. As a dog begins to get hot, it will become anxious, agitated and start pacing which heats up the dog even more," associate professor of critical care who helps run the emergency room for the University of Georgia's College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Ben Brainard told reporters. "Then the dog will start drooling, maybe frothing at the mouth, vomiting and defecating. As the heat starts to affect the dog's brain, it will stumble, lose its balance and have trouble standing. It will then collapse, and finally lose consciousness."
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