The summer months are always the
time when children and pets are the most vulnerable to the heat yet there has
been an alarming number of children and pets reported left alone in locked cars
with the windows closed even if for a few minutes, the body temperature can
soar to 105 degrees and that is lethal for children and pets. So far this year
alone 10 children have died because they were left behind in hot cars. One
child died last week in Texas. You can call 911 and the police will break the
window to get the child out. New car technology has made it harder to pop the
car door open with a tool or hanger. Carrie Underwood tweeted earlier this
month that she broke her own window to get at her pet and child and keys left
locked in.
The temperature in a car can
climb 20 degrees in only ten minutes in the heat. Even an adult under the
extreme temperatures can get an irregular heartbeat from the extreme
temperature. The Internet is full of videos of people showing the effects on
their bodies from the extreme heat in closed cars. The videos on You Tube from
PITA get a million views. NFL player Tyrone Matthew has a video showing him
suffering from the extreme heat. This month in Tennessee a law has been
extended to allow good Samaritans to break into a car to also rescue dogs.
Earlier this summer there was an
arrest in Athens, Georgia after an Army Veteran broke the window of a
car to rescue a small Terrier. The charges were later dropped only after a
protest. ABC has a show What Would You Do where they conducted a social
experiment of seeing the reaction of people to these situations. Some people
were outraged and others didn’t care. Anyone in this country should not be in fear
of prosecution when they step in to help a neglected child or pet left alone in a hot car.
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