It summertime in the city and it's hot in the car. Protect your pets and children by 1) remembering that you have at least one of them and 2) keep them cool in the space that they occupy. That pertains not only inside your house but also in your car.
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| Pet safety in the heat is just as important as child safety |
There is nothing more heartbreaking that a news report about a child who was left in a car seat in the back seat of a car or a careless pet owner who left their animal in the car with barely a cracked window.
When it comes to pet safety, it isn't just limited to your car. So here are some tips to help you out.
PET SAFETY
- Walk your animal in early morning and later in the evening after dinner. Steer clear of walking your pet in the middle of the day when temperatures are at their highest.
- Take breaks in the shade if you are out for more than 20 minutes.
- Keep a 'damp to wet' hand towel around your own neck to keep yourself cool and put a 'damp to wet' bath towel in a large Ziploc bag to take along for your pet. Don't forget to grab a bottle of cold water and a small plastic bowl with you every time you take your pet for a walk so your pet can get a drink too. The cold drinking water cools from the inside. The dampness of the bath towel will cool your pet from the outside. Your pet needs both if they are ever overheated.
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| Know the numbers and what they mean! |
- Know the signs of distress: If you pet starts to pant excessively, they are overheating so get in the shade and give them a drink from your bottled water, then head for home.
- If it is above 100 degrees outside, either stay inside or if your pet must go out, then keep your walk to under five minutes.
- If your pet "feels" hot or measures with a body temperature exceeding 102 degrees and if he does not cool down with air conditioning, a pet bath or lots of cool liquids, it's time to get to the vet.
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| Leaving a window open for your pet is an invitation for someone to steal him. |
- If your pet's gums are dry, your pet is overheated. Their gums should be slimy and slick.
- An animal's foot pads will feel heat before any other part of their body. Either put foot pads or insulated socks on them before you take them outside OR delay the walk until the cooler hours of the day.
- If your animal's feet are hot to the touch, use a wet towel to cool them down or let them stand in ankle-high bath water or pool water for a few minutes.
- If you have to go inside a building for any length of time and you have to take your pet with you for any reason, bring along a friend to sit in the car with him until you return.
- Whenever you have a list of errands to run, leave your pet at home.
CHILD CAR SAFETY
- "Look Before You Lock" - Every time you get out of your vehicle, open the back door (or hatch if you don't have a back door) to check over your whole vehicle before walking away. Make sure no child (or pet) has been left behind.
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| Protect the most precious thing in your life - your children. |
- If you are in the habit of allowing your children to play with your keys, give them an old set of keys or a pretend set of keys to play with. Children will instinctively pick up your keys because they are familiar with them they to crawl inside the car or trunk when you are not aware.
- Keep this 3-point checklist on a Post-It note and tack it on your dashboard, on your handicap hang tag, on your rear view mirror, the center of your steering wheel, or on your drop down sun visor. Do the three steps every time you are leaving your vehicle and before you lock it. They are: 1. check back seat. 2. check car seat 3. check trunk
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| People remember their phones but forget they have a child. |
- Give yourself a reason to go in the back seat every time you use your vehicle. Behind the driver's seat on the floor, place your purse, cellphone, laptop, jacket -- something that you'll need to take out of the vehicle with you, so that you have to open the back door to get it out every time that you park.
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| Hot Weather Safety Tips |
- Keep a LARGE stuffed animal in your car and put it in the front seat with you after you have put your child in the car seat. Seeing the stuffed animal will remind you that your child is in the back in his car seat.
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Keep a stuffed animal in the front seat to remind
yourself you have a child in the car seat |
- Put a policy in place with all child care providers that you will call when the child will not be attending. Likewise, if the child does not show up as expected, that the facility should call you to be sure the child is safely at home.
- As a matter of safety, check the inside of your vehicle before you get in, no matter if your car is garaged, in a driveway or in a regular parking space, and regardless if you just got out of the car ten minutes ago. People do strange things to their pets and children - like forgetting they left them in cars, and strange people do even stranger things to your pets and children - like stealing them out of cars.
- Don't use your pet as a reminder of which car is yours in a crowded parking lot. Leave your pet at home. There are other ways to find your car: use your remote to find your car, hang something unique from the rear view mirror, put a funky bumper sticker on the fender, or buy a colorful windshield sun protector so you know which car is yours.
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| You can easily spot your car when it has a unique sun cover. |
- Don't leave a child of any age in a car with the doors locked. Anyone can say they are locked out, get a code to unlock your doors and steal your child. If you can't take your child inside a building with you, leave them at home. Get a neighbor to watch them for you and make it snappy while you are out.
- Some people crack a window and think that is good enough for a pet, then it is good enough for a child. Neither is correct.
- Having a child is a responsibility, just as having a pet is a responsibility. Start making arrangements for alternate caregivers to help out in a pinch so you aren't leaving a child in the car for any reason.
- If a child is asleep and you hesitate to take them out of the vehicle to go inside any building with you because you fear waking them up, get over the hesitation and take the sleeping child out of the car. A child can always go back to sleep, but you can't replace a child who has died from being left in a hot car. If it is not possible to take a child inside a building with you and that's your reason for leaving them in the car, leave them at home with a responsible adult or ask someone at your appointment to look after the child until you have completed your business.
- If you ever think your child is missing, before you call 911, go check the inside of your vehicle (all passenger compartments and trunk). Children might lock the doors if they see a stranger approach. Newer model cars self-lock when the driver gets out of the vehicle.
- Be aware at all times who and what is inside your vehicle. Anyone can get in your car or take something (or someone) out of your car in parking lots, gas stations, and shopping centers.
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| People forget their children in the car because the child fell asleep. |
- ANYTIME that you see a child alone in a vehicle, call 911 immediately. If the child appears to be asleep, overly hot or sick, break a window or damage door handles and get them out as fast as possible. Then, stay with the vehicle until police arrive. The same goes for pets.
- There are 11 US states that have the "Good Samaritan" law which gives citizens the LEGAL right to use any means necessary (smash windows, damage door handles, etc.) to save a distressed animal or child. They are: Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Indiana, Colorado, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Vermont and Wisconsin. In Canada, England and Australia, it is illegal to break windows or do damage to vehicles when animals or children are locked unattended inside a vehicle.
- Know the signs: If you see a child alone in a hot vehicle, immediately call 911. Warning signs of hyperthermia include red, hot and moist or dry skin; no sweating; a strong rapid pulse or a slow weak pulse; nausea or acting strangely.
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This is a growing epidemic. Please check your car so you aren't
leaving behind a child. |
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