New Law Allows Rescuers To Save Animals Trapped In Hot Cars

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — Local lawmakers applauded the signing into law of a bill Thursday authorizing emergency responders to remove distressed animals left in motor vehicles, sometimes in extreme, life-threatening heat.

New York State Assemb. Fred Thiele and New York State Sen. Kenneth LaValle announced Thursday that their legislation authorizing firefighters and other emergency medical responders to remove animals in unattended motor vehicles under conditions that endanger their health or well-being had sailed through.

The measure, they said, will help to reduce wait times when 911 calls are made alerting authorities that a pet is in danger, especially when the availability of law enforcement or animal control is limited.

The bill goes into effect immediately.

"In the summer months, we are reminded of the danger that the confinement of pets in motor vehicles can pose when temperatures inside vehicles can soar to life-threatening extremes within minutes," Thiele said. "This important measure will result in the saving of beloved pets' lives in these dangerous situations by substantially expanding who can respond to a pet in distress."

Firefighters and EMS personnel are equipped and trained to act in such situations, he said. "This will allow our firefighters to put that training to good use when a pet is threatened by extreme temperatures in a motor vehicle," he said.

LaValle added that authorizing emergency medical service personnel and firefighters to remove animals from cars in extreme heat or cold situations is critical in reducing wait times, saving the lives of innocent animals.

"In areas with limited police resources, this new law becomes even more important as it expands the number of emergency personnel who can respond to a desperate situation where a helpless animal is in imminent danger and the owner cannot be located," he said. "Too often we hear stories about an animal that has died due to the reckless behavior of its owner. This measure will offer greater protections to our precious pets and penalize those who put them in harm’s way."

Locally, after two kittens were rescued from a hot car in Ridge in July, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals issued an urgent warning about the life-threatening dangers.

Since last year, PETA said, there have been at least 90 hot weather–related animal deaths — and those are just the ones that have been reported. Most aren't, PETA said.

On a 78-degree day, the temperature inside a parked car can soar to 100 degrees in just minutes, and on a 90-degree day, the interior temperature can reach as high as 109 degrees in less than 10 minutes, PETA said.

Cats, who can't sweat, and dogs, who don't sweat and can cool themselves only by panting, can rapidly succumb to heatstroke, even if a vehicle is parked in the shade with the windows slightly open, which has little to no effect on lowering the temperature inside, PETA said.

Law-enforcement officials across the country are also warning people of the dangers of hot weather. "Every year, we alert people to the danger of leaving children or pets inside cars in the summer," says Chief of Police James R. Kruger Jr. from Oak Brook, IL. "The temperature inside a vehicle climbs approximately 43 degrees in just an hour. The loss of a defenseless animal in this manner is avoidable and should never happen. There is no reason to take your pet out in extreme heat without adequate air conditioning and water."

If you see a cat or dog left alone in a hot car, call local humane authorities or the police; don't leave the scene until the situation has been resolved, PETA said. If the authorities are unresponsive or too slow and the animal's life appears to be in imminent danger, find a witness, or several, who will back up the assessment, then remove the suffering animal from the car and wait for authorities to arrive, PETA said.

PETA said it even offers an emergency window-breaking hammer for help with intervening in these life-or-death situations.

A Ridge woman was charged with confining the two 8-week old kittens in a hot car, the Suffolk County SPCA said.

Suffolk County SPCA detectives charged a Kimberly McKinley, 23, with confinement of companion animals in a vehicle in extreme temperatures; Ridge was charged with keeping her two kittens in her car, a violation.

The SPCA said they received a call from MTA Police that kittens had been left in a vehicle at the Ronkonkoma train station.

The temperature outside at the time was 81 degrees at 9 a.m., the SPCA said. The kittens were left unattended in the car from 2 a.m. in the morning until the time the incident was reported at 9 a.m., the SPCA said. The kittens were removed from the vehicle and transported to Brookhaven Animal Shelter, the SPCA said.

McKinley is scheduled to appear in First District Court in Central Islip on September 16, the SPCA said.

It wasn't the first time such a case made headlines: In July, 2018, a Shirley man was charged with animal cruelty under the New York State Agriculture and Markets Law after three caged dogs were found dead in a hot SUV.

"Never leave your animals unattended in a car in these temperatures," said Roy Gross of the Suffolk County SPCA at the time. "The car becomes an oven in a matter of minutes, even with the windows cracked — a few minutes is a death sentence, especially in temperatures like we're seeing now."

The Suffolk County SPCA has been continuously reminding people that leaving an animal in a car can lead to a tragedy, the SPCA said in a release this July. "Many animals left in vehicles unattended have died from complications of exposure. Animals have a hard time staying cool, leaving them extremely vulnerable to heatstroke and or death. Avoid this unnecessary tragedy."

Gross said that animal cruelty will not be tolerated in Suffolk County. Anyone who witnesses any incident of animal cruelty or neglect in Suffolk County, or has any information about any cases, is asked to contact the Suffolk County SPCA at (631) 382-7722. All calls will be kept confidential.