Animal owners reminded to not leave dogs in the car

Fines, jail time penalty for leaving dog in a car With the high temperatures, police are reminding dog owners to not leave a dog in a car for any amount of time. Jaime McKee reports.

Dog owners are being reminded by the humane society and police to not leave their dogs in vehicles as temperatures rise.

Experts say vehicles can heat up very fast, even in the shade.

"Every year, we go through the same thing. We talk about hot weather, dogs, fur coats, and how overwhelming it can be and every single year, we are dealing with the same thing," said North Bay Humane Society shelter manger Janet Bredin.

"It’s really important for people to be mindful about how hot cars can get and how fast."

North Bay police said it gets two to three calls a week about a dog being left in a vehicle.

"If someone sees a dog in a vehicle, they’re to call 911 immediately. Police will respond," said Sgt. Matthew Parker.

"We do have the powers under the provincial animal welfare system to attend and cause damage to that vehicle if necessary to get the animal out immediately."

Parker said that the vehicle owner and dog owner can be charged if police have to come rescue the dog.

"Leaving a pet in an idle vehicle on a warm day not only puts its life in danger but also violates the Provincial Animal Welfare Services (PAWS) Act," Sault police said in a news release. "Anyone who breaks these laws may face fines, jail time and other penalties."

And no length of time is safe.

"Even if the windows are cracked open, temperatures inside a vehicle can quickly becoming dangerous for pets because of their limited capacity to deal with heat," Sault police said.

In a news release the Solicitor General said "the most dramatic rise in temperature occurs within the first 10 minutes that a vehicle is idle."

"Even at an outdoor temperature of only 25 C, the inside temperature of a car can reach 34 C in as little as 10 minutes and up to 50 C by the time an hour has passed."