Anna Wrote:
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> These dogs are rescue beagles we've had for 9
> years. I truly believe we're wrong people to be
> charged with animal cruelty. However, as far as I
> know the animal cruelty laws have been tighten up
> in the last years. I'm afraid it'll be up to the
> judge to decide and it could be anything...
You assume that because you rescued the animals, you are noble and beyond reproach?
Do you know enough about dogs to understand that they do not tolerate heat the same way we do? They only discharge heat through the pads of their feet and through panting. They also can suffer brain damage rather quickly on a hot day.
Never assume that 78 degrees is okay, because your car can quickly reach the high 90's, even go beyond 100 degrees, when it is only 70 degrees outside, and even with the windows cracked. Anything above 70, with partly cloudy or clear skies can turn a car into an oven as far as dogs are concerned.
Besides, leaving a purebred dog in a car is inviting dog theft.
When I travel with my dogs, I never leave them in the car, they come with me, I stop at places to eat where I can bring my dogs, or one person in my travel party stays outside with the dogs while the rest go and get the food, or whatever errand or whatever.
Once the temperature is above about 60 degrees, I never leave my dogs in the car. I rarely do so when the temps are below 60, but that is the only time I would even consider it.
http://www.tampabay.com/features/pets/article1018250.ece
Check out how hot a car can really get at mydogiscool.com, a program of United Animal Nations. When it's 72 degrees, a car in direct sun can reach an internal temperature of 116. Even in the shade, a car can be 10 to 20 degrees hotter than outdoors, and cracking the window has almost no effect.
Veterinarian Cate Rinaldo, a volunteer with United Animal Nations, said dogs don't have sweat glands all over their bodies as humans do. They cool off by panting, which is inefficient.
Once a dog's body temperature gets over about 106 — normal temperature is around 101 — the result is "everything from nerve damage, heart problems, liver damage, systemic organ failure, and it happens fast, within a matter of minutes," she said.