When dogs are left in cars during the warm season, they can face death by heat within a very short time.
Within minutes, temperatures inside a vehicle can rise to up to 80 °C. Here is what attentive bystanders need to keep in mind from a legal perspective if they want to free dogs on their own initiative.
As a rule of thumb: in direct sunlight, the interior of a car heats up by one degree per minute — at an outside temperature of just 30 °C, values of up to 80 °C can be reached within a short time. Even a slightly open window makes no difference. The limited airspace inside the car makes it impossible for the animal to release heat by panting. As heat stress progresses, a dog can die from circulatory collapse. Each year, around a dozen dog owners are convicted for leaving dogs in overheated cars, sometimes facing fines of several hundred to more than a thousand francs.
The right course of action
The following principles should always be observed during a rescue operation — this way, bystanders have nothing to fear from a legal standpoint:
- If you are in a shopping centre, have the licence plate number announced immediately in order to locate the owner of the dog and the car as quickly as possible.
- If the owner cannot be found, immediately alert the police and a veterinarian.
- Only break the car window if the police do not arrive in time or not at all — or if you can see that there is an urgent emergency.
- Warning signs include increased panting, jumping around inside the vehicle, loud yelping or whimpering, but also lethargy, apathy, and loss of consciousness.
- Place the freed dog in the shade and moisten its body and legs with wet, cool cloths, and dampen the mouth cavity with cold water. Leave further treatment to a veterinarian.
- For your own protection, create a record of the rescue operation, supplemented by photos or videos taken on your mobile phone. Animal owners who are upset about the rescue operation could file a claim for damages for the broken car window.
More information: www.tierschutz.com/aktuell/ueberhitzungsgefahr.html
