It amazes us that the message “No Dogs in Hot Cars” still needs repeating but it obviously does as evidenced by these current events: Dog left in hot car rescued at county jail, Chicago Tribune and 14 dogs die in Roseland when truck’s air conditioning fails from the South Bend Tribune. We wish we could say that here in Florida we know better because we deal with heat all the time but that is not the case. Earlier this month we had a K-9 officer die after being left in a hot patrol car.

So with all that, I am going to share two of my favorite Summer Car Safety Tips for Dog Owners with the hope no dog gets injured in a hot car.

I think we all agree that dogs should be secured while riding in the car. I don’t know about other dogs but Oz is quiet when in the car…actually, he is usually asleep! No matter if your dog is in a crate or is secured with a travel harness like the Sleepypod Clickit Sport, if they are quiet on car rides you may forget that they are there. We use simple reminders like keeping his leash with us in the front seat or placing our bags in the back with Oz to remember that he is there.

Drivers in Florida joke in the summer about having to wear oven mitts to touch the steering wheel. The interior of our cars get super hot to the touch and we cannot even sit down without burning our bums! The same can happen to your dog which is why we try to put Oz in the car only after the Air Conditioning has kicked in. We also use a seat cover, like Sleepypod Cloudpuff travel blanket, to protect him from the hot leather seats.

Also note when putting your pup in the car with their Sleepypod Clickit: seat belts can be hot too. Don’t buckle up your pup with a hot belt…let the a/c cool it down first.