Editor,

It’s hot out folks, even if it’s overcast. It’s too hot to leave your dog in the car. Please don’t leave your dogs in the car, even on gray days. They will be happier and safer if they are left at home.

I urge folks who see dogs locked in cars when the temperature is 70 degrees or higher to try to find the owner, and if you can’t find them, call the police. Animals can’t open the door and get out on their own; they are at the mercy of their owners.

As of 2015, a Washington state law makes it a violation just to leave an animal unattended in a vehicle or enclosed space, if the animal could be harmed or killed by exposure to excessive heat or cold, lack of ventilation or lack of water.

“In terms of heat-rise over time, it makes very little difference whether a car’s windows are closed or partially open. In both cases, a car’s interior temperature can rise approximately 40 degrees within one hour, even when the exterior temperature is only 72 degrees Fahrenheit,” according to the American Academy of Pediatrics study (2005)

“Even on a relatively cool day, the temperature inside a parked car can quickly spike to life-threatening levels if the sun is out, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine found.

Please, leave your pets at home or take them into the store with you if you can. And if you see an animal locked in a car, try to find the owner, if you can’t or they won’t take care of the animal, call the police; you may just save a life!

Susan Azar

Freeland