Krysten Ritter: Do Whatever It Takes to Be an Angel for Animals

Actor Krysten Ritter sure knows how to be a “bad girl,” and now she’s being bad for animals. Krysten’s putting heat on people never to leave animals inside hot parked cars.

It is our duty to help animals in need and keep them safe. Animals left in hot cars are no exception. Anybody can be a guardian angel, and that means you!

On a 78-degree day, the temperature inside a shaded car with the windows slightly open is 90 degrees, while the inside of a car parked in the sun can reach a temperature of 160 degrees in a matter of minutes! Can you imagine the agony of being helplessly trapped inside a steel coffin while wearing a fur coat and being cooked from the inside out?

Watch her video, in which she explains how important it is to do whatever it takes when you see a dog trapped in a hot parked car and how you, too, can earn your wings and be an angel for animals.

Dogs can regulate their body temperature only by panting or sweating through their paw pads, so being confined to a hot environment without relief can quickly trigger heatstroke and shock. Animals who suffer from heatstroke can sustain brain damage or die in just 15 minutes. It’s also common for a frightened dog to scratch his or her paws bloody while trying to escape from the car.

If you ever see a dog locked inside a hot car, take action! Alert local businesses to page the car’s owner; call local humane authorities, police, or 911 (this is an emergency!); never leave the animal until help arrives; and if the guardian or authorities don’t arrive in a timely manner, find witnesses and take other measures to free the distressed animal from the car. Do whatever it takes.