Simon (Cowell) Says: ‘Don’t Leave Your Dog in a Hot Car!’

PETA Public Service Announcement to Hit Local Airwaves With Lifesaving Summertime Reminder

For Immediate Release:
July 23, 2020

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

Because San Antonio is one of the hottest cities in the U.S., PETA will run its public service announcement (PSA) featuring Simon Cowell on local radio stations on Friday. It advises listeners never to leave dogs behind in parked cars, as delays happen and temperatures inside cars quickly rise in the summer, even with the windows rolled down a bit.

Twenty-one animals have already died this year from heat-related causes—and since COVID-19 is extending store wait times and prolonging errands, PETA is concerned that this summer could see an unprecedented number of hot car–related animal deaths.

“Far be it from me to be critical, but I find it really appalling that this year, thousands of dogs will die of heatstroke inside parked cars,” Cowell says in the PSA. “Never, ever leave your dog inside a parked car .… In warm weather, keep him safe at home.”

PETA offers the following tips to help keep companion animals safe in hot weather:

• Never leave an animal inside a hot vehicle. Temperatures can quickly soar in parked cars, and a dog trapped inside can die from heatstroke within minutes—even if the car is in the shade with the windows slightly open, which has little to no effect on lowering the temperature inside the car. PETA offers an emergency window-breaking hammer for help with intervening in life-or-death situations.
• Keep animals indoors. Unlike humans, dogs can sweat only through their footpads and cool themselves by panting, so even brief sun exposure can have life-threatening consequences. Anyone who sees animals in distress and is unable to help should note their locations and alert authorities immediately.
• Avoid hot pavement. When outdoor temperatures reach the 80s, asphalt temperatures can climb to 140 degrees, causing pain, burns, and permanent damage to dogs’ paws after just a few minutes of contact. Never run with dogs in hot weather—they’ll collapse before giving up, at which point, it may be too late to save them.

The PSA will run on 28 spots—two spots per hour, four on each station—from 3 to 5 p.m. on Friday, July 24, on KAJA-FM, KQXT-FM, KRPT-FM, KTKR-AM, KXXM-FM, KZEP-FM, and WOAI-AM.

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.