Urgent: PETA Warns That Dogs May Die in Hot Weather—Vital Tips Here

For Immediate Release:
June 30, 2021

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

This week’s high temperatures—expected to reach the 90s today in Baltimore and Washington—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 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.

This month, 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. Last year, more than 31 dogs were reported dead from heat-related causes. (Figures are far likely higher, as most heat-related deaths go unreported.)

PETA also urges everyone to support the Hot Cars Act of 2021, which would require automakers to install technology in vehicles to detect the presence of a child or an animal and alert drivers when someone is in the backseat.

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