‘Too Hot for Spot and Tot’: PETA Blasts Warnings in Akron
For Immediate Release:
July 22, 2022
Contact:
Nicole Meyer 202-483-7382
After a local dog was rescued from a hot car last summer—and because at least 18 dogs have died or been rescued from hot cars across the state in just two years—PETA has erected a sky-high alert in Highland Square, worked with Walgreens to place messages on its electric vehicle stations, and is running public service announcements (PSA) over CVS store loudspeakers warning everyone that leaving dogs and children in hot cars can quickly turn deadly.
On a 75-degree day, the temperature inside a parked car can soar to 94 degrees in just 10 minutes, and on a 90-degree day, it can reach 109 degrees in just minutes. As the temperature climbs, dogs endure agonizing symptoms: They go into shock, vomit blood, urinate and have diarrhea, and can experience multi-organ failure, cardiopulmonary arrest, fluid buildup in the lungs, muscle tremors, seizures, unconsciousness, and, finally, death.
“Because temperatures in a parked car can reach triple digits within minutes leaving a dog or a child locked inside can end in tragedy,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is reminding everyone that the safest place for our most vulnerable family members is indoors, where it’s cool.”
Already this year, 29 dogs and 12 children have died inside hot cars. In 2021, at least 59 animals died from heat-related causes, and another 145 animals were rescued from potentially deadly situations—and since these numbers include only incidents reported in the media, the actual figures are surely far higher.
Anyone who sees a dog or a child in a parked car should take immediate action: Call 911. Then write down the vehicle’s color, make, model, and license plate number and rush to have nearby stores page the owner. If the owner can’t be found and if authorities are unresponsive, do what it takes to save the individual’s life. PETA offers an emergency window-breaking hammer for help with intervening in life-or-death situations.
PETA’s billboard is located at 24 Mt. View Ave. in Akron, all CVS locations are running PETA’s PSA, and Walgreens’ reminder is running at all stores with Volta electric vehicle charging stations. PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
