Leaving Your Pet In A Parked Car Can Be A Deadly Mistake

With the summer months upon us, it’s time for a reminder about the dangers of leaving your pet in a parked car. Whether you’re parking in the shade, just running into the store, or leaving the windows cracked, it is still not ok to leave your pet in a parked car.

The temperature inside a car can skyrocket after just a few minutes. Parking in the shade or leaving the windows cracked does very little to alleviate this pressure cooker.

On a warm, sunny day try turning your car off, cracking your windows and sitting there. It will only be a few short minutes before it becomes unbearable. Imagine how your helpless pet will feel. On an 85-degree day, for example, the temperature inside a car with the windows cracked can reach 102 degrees within only ten minutes. After 30 minutes, the temperature will reach 120 degrees. At 110 degrees, pets are in danger of heatstroke. On hot and humid days, the temperature in a car parked in direct sunlight can rise more than 30 degrees per minute, and quickly become lethal.

Stanford University School of Medicine conducted a study to measure the temperature rise inside a parked car on sunny days with highs ranging from 72 to 96 degrees F. Their results showed that a car’s interior can heat up by an average of 40 degrees F within an hour, regardless of ambient temperature. Ambient temperature doesn’t matter – it’s whether it’s sunny out. Eighty percent of the temperature rise occurred within the first half hour. Even on a relatively cool day, the temperature inside a parked car can quickly spike to life-threatening levels if the sun is out.

Further, the researchers noted that much like the sun warms a greenhouse in winter; it also warms a parked car on cool days. In both cases, the sun heats up a mass of air trapped under glass. Precautions such as cracking a window or running the air conditioner prior to parking the car were found to be inadequate.

Pets are very susceptible to overheating as they are much less efficient at cooling themselves than people are. The solution is simple – leave your pets at home if the place you are going does not allow pets. Read more »

In the UK, we consider dogs to be companion animals and even valued family members. Tragically, this is not the case in the Philippines, where nearly 500,000 defenceless dogs are brutally killed every year for the commercial dog meat trade and specialty dog meat restaurants are widespread. Take action >>

As you read this, helpless dogs are waiting in cages to be slaughtered. They are crammed so tightly together in wire cages they cannot move, struggling for every breath in the stifling heat with their snouts tied shut. The dogs are stolen or rounded up on the street, transported to slaughter in conditions so bad nearly half the dogs die en route in rvs. Those that reach the slaughterhouse alive are clubbed or have their throats cut whilst conscious. Sign the Network for Animals petition to stop the illegal dog meat trade >>

Dog meat eating was banned in the Philippines in 1998. Sadly, the law is rarely enforced, and the penalties are so weak that convicted dog meat traders get off with a slap on the wrist only to return to their cruel trade.

But now there is real hope for the dogs. Recently, lobbying by animal protection groups led to stronger laws that greatly increase fines and include jail time for convicted dog meat traders. With your help, we can get the police to enforce the new law, stop this illegal trade and save countless dogs from a horrible fate.

Please join our friends at Network for Animals in signing the petition encouraging the Filipino government to enforce the law prohibiting the trade in dog meat >>

Buying a puppy from a breeder is something that a lot of families see as the obvious way to get a dog. But a recent survey by RSPCA inspectors reveals that more than half of all puppy breeding establishments in England in Wales do not meet the animal welfare needs. The number of complaints about animals and pet purchases, have almost doubled in the past two years. More than 4,600 calls were made to the goverment complaints service in 2008.

The RSPCA wants to work with local authorities, who license animal breeding establishments, to ensure the animal welfare standards are raised. Thay also want to clamp down more and more on rogue puppy traffickers who are routinely peddling sick puppies imported from Ireland. Round here that animal rescue centres are full of unwanted puppies from Ireland, so you can see that by using a puppy breeder you could be contributing to puppy trafficking. This is where puppies are bred in large numbers for profit, often with little regard for animal welfare. Many puppies fall sick, and some die.

These are the facts – RSPCA undercover staff bought six puppies. Of these, two were seriously ill. Frank, a mastiff, had parvo virus, but was fortunately saved by vets. Chardonnay, a cavalier King Charles spaniel cross, was diagnosed with pneumonia and, despite constant care, sadly died two weeks later. Read more »

We have just returned from a holiday in Turkey and although we had a great time, I was very sad to see a number of stray dogs in the streets and on the beach at our resort.  Some of these dogs looked very ill, with badly healed old fractures and no sign of any animal rescue service to help them. In fact, one of the dogs was walking around close to the only vet’s surgery in the area: the staff could see hime clearly from their office furniture.  Fortunately Turkish meals are very generous, as I fed most of my meat to the dogs in the evenings and early mornings.  It is a tough call when you witness a situation like this. I certainly don’t go with the idea of taking one of the dogs back to my home counrty with me – the cost of the journey would keep six dogs alive for years!

The RSPCA is appealing to people living in the South East of England  who can offer a new home to one of more than 100 St Bernards which were removed from kennels in Northamptonshire in December 2008.

Since then the dogs have been cared for in private boarding kennels on behalf of the RSPCA. While they remained the property of their former owner, the Society was unable to rehome them.

Now, ownership of the St Bernards has been signed over to the RSPCA and so good new homes can be sought.

The dogs are being rehomed in small groups through various RSPCA animal centres. Priority will be given to potential owners who live nearest to where the dogs are currently being cared for to limit how far they will have to travel to their new homes. In the South East region, priority will be given to people living in Kent , as the dogs are being cared for near Maidstone. If you would like to offer a home to one of these wonderful dogs in the UK, please call 0300 123 8000.

Please note that a donation will be required in return for rehoming one of the dogs which helps cover the cost of their neutering, vaccinations, microchipping and veterinary check

St Bernards are large dogs and, as these particular animals have lived in kennels all their lives, they are not used to walking on leads and have not been house trained. They will need experienced homes where there is a reasonably large amount of space. They will also need regular grooming.

Paul Williams, RSPCA animal welfare manager in the RSPCA’s east region, said: “These dogs will need special care and patience. They all have good temperaments but their kennel background means that they will need owners with the knowledge and time to help them settle into their new homes.

“So far,  caring for these St Bernards has cost the RSPCA around £100,000 and all donations, however big or small, will be gratefully received. If you would like to rehome one of the dogs or make a donation so we can continue to care for animals like these, please call us on 0300 123 8000.”

The majority of the dogs range in age from two years to eight years and older and should make very loyal and rewarding pets for those able to give them the care they desperately need.
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This is a really sad tale of human cruelty to animals, but you can help – please read on:

A wolf and a donkey were made to share a cage in the town of Patok in Albania on May 9, 2007. The donkey was brought into the enclosure to be fed to the wolf, which was caught in the northern Albanian mountains. But the wolf defied the human plan and refused to kill the donkey. The two animals become attached to each other in their miserable situation, with the wolf cowering behind his donkey companion. Their cage is small and filthy. Although the donkey has now been released into an enclosure the wolf remains in the cage and cannot even get comfort from his companion.

Please be a voice for these animals and ask for their freedom and for them to be released to a sanctuary where they will be properly cared for and in an appropriate environment. There is a group of animal lovers working hard to get animals released and taken to a sanctuary. They are now appealing for assistance from an animal organization inside Albania to help. Meantime you can sign a petition and get involved in helping free the wolf and donkey.