Sacramento Fire Department, Shelter Net PETA Awards for Saving Dog in Hot Car

Awards Recognize Kind Actions That Saved a Dog From Heatstroke

For Immediate Release:
July 10, 2015

Contact:
Lakisha Ridley 202-483-7382

Courtesy of PETA, two framed awards are on their way to the Sacramento Fire Department and Front Street Animal Shelter, which together came to the rescue of a dog who was left inside a car in dangerously rising heat. Firefighters recorded the temperature inside the vehicle at 91 degrees when the Front Street Animal Shelter arrived on the scene. They were able to free the dog from the hot car, and animal-control officers took him to a local shelter. He has since been reunited with his guardian, and rescuers have stated that they plan to cite his owner for abandoning the dog in life-threatening heat. The fire department also recently resuscitated a dog who had collapsed from the heat on July 4.

“The quick and decisive actions of these caring officers and first responders spared this lucky dog’s life,” says PETA Senior Director Colleen O’Brien. “Every summer, many others die in agonizing, preventable ways, and that’s why PETA calls on bystanders to act quickly when they see a dog left inside a car—even if the windows are cracked—during hot months.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—reminds all dog guardians never to leave any animal inside a parked car. On a 78-degree day, the temperature inside a parked car can soar to between 100 and 120 degrees in just minutes, and on a 90-degree day, the interior temperature can reach as high as 160 degrees in less than 10 minutes.

The Sacramento Fire Department and Front Street Animal Shelter will each receive a framed certificate and a box of delicious vegan cookies. The fire department will also receive a copy of The Engine 2 Diet—a Texas firefighter’s 28-day plan for staying in prime firefighting shape by eating plant-based foods.

For more information, please visit PETA.org. To view the certificates, please click here and here.