To the editor:

While most Floridians are excited to see temperatures in the 80s, warm weather means that we must be more vigilant about watching for dogs left in hot cars. Recently, I heard yelping and whining in a store parking lot and followed the sound to discover a black dog left alone in an SUV. I found the owner, who said that his dog was fine because the windows were cracked and he had only been gone a few minutes–but his mistake could’ve been deadly for his dog.

On a 70-degree day, the temperature inside a parked car can soar to 99 degrees in just 20 minutes. Leaving the windows cracked or parking in the shade makes almost no difference. It takes only a few minutes for dogs to sustain brain damage or even die from heatstroke. Some dogs have turned off the car’s air conditioning or locked their guardians out. It just isn’t worth the risk.

If you see a dog left in a car, have the owner paged at the nearest stores, and call authorities if they don’t return. Keep watch over the dog for signs of heatstroke, including heavy panting, heavy salivation, difficulty breathing, lethargy, and vomiting. If authorities are slow to respond and the dog appears to be in danger, Florida has a “Good Samaritan” law that protects any citizen who breaks a car window to save an animal’s life.

Michelle Reynolds

North Port

A senior writer for the PETA Foundation