Regardless of the season, leaving an animal or a child alone in a parked car is extremely dangerous - and can lead to death. In summer, it can lead to heat stroke and boiling alive. In the winter, it can lead to freezing to death.
Yet in 19 U.S. states as well as the nation's capital, it strangely isn't illegal to leave your dog in a car. How can that be? Sign the petition!Particularly during warmer months, the temperature inside a parked car can skyrocket - and quickly. Even with a window cracked part-way open,
internal temperatures can climb around 20 degrees Fahrenheit (11 degrees Celsius), just within the first 10 minutes alone. After that, it can continue to worsen.
Even leaving a car on and with the air conditioning or heat running isn't a good enough solution. That's because it's not uncommon for something to go wrong, and the heat or cooling to suddenly turn off - or worse, for the car to just turn off entirely.
An owner may have thought they were taking care of their pet, only to come back and discover the absolute worst case scenario.As climate change worsens and summer heat waves become more frequent, longer, and more severe, the risk to our furry friends is magnifying catastrophically. In fact, the risks to pets are so severe, some cases have even made it legal to rescue an animal left alone in a stranger's parked car!
But Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, and also Washington, D.C. haven't gotten the message yet.
In these 20 places, it is completely legal for people to leave their dogs in a parked car!We must protect pets from deadly negligence! Sign the petition to demand these 19 states and the nation's capital finally protect laws prohibiting people from trapping their pets alone in parked cars!