Record spike in distress calls for overheated dogs

Record calls for "dogs in distress" in 2015 have sparked emergency officials to kick off a campaign to alert pet owners to the dangers of deserting dogs in vehicles, especially with B.C.s ongoing hot weather.

• Distressed dogs law would allow overheated animals to be rescued
• Five ways to protect your dog in a heat wave

So far this year there have been 840 reports about dogs in hot cars, up significantly compared to last year.

"Many well-meaning guardians leave their pets in parked vehicles while they run errands thinking they will be safe for a short period," said Lorie Chortyk, community relations manager for the B.C. SPCA. "Tragically, in hot weather their pets can suffer serious heatstroke and die in a matter of minutes."

Fire, safety and animal protection officials urge people to stop locking pets in vehicles, even with the air conditioning on as it can fail. 

On July 1 a ground-breaking law went into effect in Tennessee, allowing Good Samaritans to break into locked vehicles to rescue animals in distress or overheating.

Hot dogs by the numbers:

840 calls to the B.C. SPCA about dogs in hot cars so far in 2015.

514 calls for distressed dogs by July 2014.

1,100 calls total for dogs in hot cars in all of 2014.

Here are top five things to do for a dog in heat distress:

• Move the animal to a cool place fast.
• Wet the dog with cool water.
• Fan vigorously to encourage evaporation, cool the blood and reduce the dog's core temperature.
• Do not apply ice as it constricts blood flow and works against cooling.
• Allow the dog to drink cool water — and get the animal to a a veterinarian as soon as possible.