Keep Your Pet Safe in This Week's Hot, Hot, Hot Weather

WISCONSIN -- As the summer heats up this week, so do concerns about safety, and that includes your pets. It's not just fellow citizens that will be on the lookout for people suffering in the hot weather, local law enforcement is also helping to keep people safe.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, hundreds of pets die from heat exhaustion because they are left in parked vehicles. They have heard the excuses: "Oh, it will just be a few minutes while I go into the store," or "But I cracked the windows..." These excuses don't amount to much if your pet becomes seriously ill or dies from being left in a vehicle.

Your vehicle can quickly reach a temperature that puts your pet at risk of serious illness and even death, even on a day that doesn't seem hot to you. According to a study published through the association, it turns out that cracking the windows makes no difference in terms of the cabin temperature of your vehicle.

Here is a chart provided via the American Veterinary Medical Association showing how hot your car gets in the summer heat. As you can see - even if its only for 10 minutes - the interior of your vehicle can get dangerously hot.

Here's 5 ways - and expert advice - to keep your pet happy and safe during this week's heat wave:

• Walk pets in the early morning or late evening when the sun is low and temperatures are cooler
• Walk dogs on softer ground such as dirt trails or grass instead of hot blacktop or cement sidewalks, which can burn their paws
• Make sure dogs always have plenty of shade in which to rest outside. The shade provided by trees is ideal, particularly if there is soft grass or dirt underneath, on which they can relax
• Always provide plenty of fresh clean water for dogs
• Keep pets inside in the coolest parts of the home during the most intense heat waves

photo credit: via ASPCA