PETA Sticks Fur Coat–Wearing Man in Hot Car in New Video

As Temperatures Rise, So Do Dog Deaths in Cars; A Few Minutes in the Heat May Be Fatal to Fido

For Immediate Release:
July 9, 2013

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Los Angeles — PETA has just released a brand-new video that shows a man in a fur coat sitting in a parked car in the sun on a hot day to illustrate what animals left in hot cars must endure. The video comes on the heels of a similar video veterinarian Dr. Ernie Ward in which he sits in a car parked in the sun as the temperature rises to 115 degrees. PETA salutes Dr. Ward for subjecting himself to the discomfort and potential danger of overheating to save animals’ lives and wants to play up the dangers one step further. In PETA’s new video, the “victim” wears a fur coat (donated by a supporter who had a change of heart) that more accurately reflects the conditions for a dog locked in a hot parked car.

“The rule is simple: During hot weather, leave the dog at home,” says PETA Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “Succumbing to heatstroke is a painful way to die, yet it happens over and over every summer all across the country.”

Many people don’t realize that because dogs only perspire through their paw pads, all they can do is pant if they become overheated. But panting is insufficient to cool the animal when temperatures quickly rise into the triple digits. Additionally, dogs often panic from the heat and expend energy, which only makes the situation worse. It’s imperative that anyone who spots a dog locked in a car on a hot day never leave the scene until the situation is resolved. PETA’s tips for helping dogs locked in hot cars can save animals’ lives.

During hot weather, even dogs who are left in a car in the shade can quickly succumb to heatstroke and sustain brain damage as a result. 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, interior temperatures can reach as high as 160 degrees in less than 10 minutes.

For more information, please visit PETA’s blog.