Urgent: PETA Warns That Dogs May Die in Heat Wave in Florida—Vital Tips Here

For Immediate Release:
August 18, 2021

Contact:
Brooke Rossi 202-483-7382

This week’s scorching temperatures—expected to reach the upper 90s in areas in Florida including Bradenton, Lakeland, Myakka City, and Tampa—will put dogs at high risk of enduring heat prostration and dying, so PETA is issuing an urgent warning to anyone with a dog. Please be sure to do the following:

• Touch the pavement before walks to ensure that it won’t burn dogs’ foot pads.
• Be alert to a long, curled-up tongue and heavy panting, as dogs cannot sweat as humans can and heat builds up inside their bodies.
• Walk only in the shade or on earth or grass, and never leave animals outdoors in extreme heat or inside vehicles.

In May, PETA fieldworkers discovered the body of a dog who had died after being left chained up in the hot sun, and similar reports nationwide are starting to roll in. Recently, a law-enforcement officer mistakenly left his patrol car with a dog inside it, and the K-9 succumbed to heat prostration and died. Already this year, 28 dogs have been reported dead from heat-related causes. (Figures are far likely higher, as most heat-related companion animal deaths go unreported.)

Anyone who leaves animals outside to suffer in severe weather may be prosecuted for cruelty.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.