Pet owners warned of hot car dangers as SWFL temps heat up

When it’s not raining in SWFL, residents are left with hot temperatures in the 80s and 90s, sometimes making it feel much hotter than it really is. Which means you can’t leave your child or dog waiting in the car. If you do, their lives could be put at risk.

That’s why Samantha Ghinazzi says she was shocked to see a dog left sitting alone in a hot car.

“I said there’s a dog in here and I don’t know what I should do,” Ghinazzi said.

It happened Sunday in a parking lot off Cape Parkway in Cape Coral.

Ghinazzi asked around for help and eventually some people in the parking lot opened the door.

At Cape Coral’s Kindness Animal Hospital, Doctor Bonnie Tucker says leaving your pet in a hot car is dangerous and can quickly turn deadly.

“The temperature in the car is going to escalate extremely quickly,” she said.

Extreme heat can lead to heat stroke and seizures in only minutes.

“I’ve literally seen them lose their ability to clot. Their liver goes into failure, their kidney goes into failure, they’re in active seizure,” Tucker said.

Ghinazzi is hoping more warnings will educate pet owners and parents alike.

“It’s summer here and it’s really really hot and it’s super dangerous,” she said.

Cape Police were called Sunday to that car in Cape Coral. It does not appear that the owner of the dog received a ticket. The dog was unharmed.