# Dogs shut in car in parking lot. Need answer fast. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 12, 2011, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-shut-in-car-in-parking-lot-need-answer-fast/581646 "2011-05-12T13:09:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![misterW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@misterW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misterW)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-shut-in-car-in-parking-lot-need-answer-fast/581646/81 "2011-05-13T00:49:55Z")
Here’s a related question with some practical value: What do you suppose is the maximum temperature your dogs should be exposed to inside the car? (I’m talking about inside temperatures. ) ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-shut-in-car-in-parking-lot-need-answer-fast/581646/82 "2011-05-13T01:31:47Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > It happened to my girlfriend. > > My girlfriend in college started her car one morning to warm it up and then went back inside her house to finish getting ready. A few minutes later she heard a thud. She went outside and her Mustang had put it self into neutral and slowly rolled halfway out of the driveway before veering right and going across her front lawn and hit a big tree that was there. /snip I don’t get how a car was unattended, not in neutral and without the safety/hand brake engaged? Did she leave it there, in gear and with the engine running? Sorry, I haven’t driven automatics so I might be barking up the wrong tree. ---
**Author:** ![misterW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@misterW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misterW)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-shut-in-car-in-parking-lot-need-answer-fast/581646/83 "2011-05-13T01:37:53Z")
> [@JustinC](#): > > /snip > > I don’t get how a car was unattended, not in neutral and without the safety/hand brake engaged? Did she leave it there, in gear and with the engine running? Sorry, I haven’t driven automatics so I might be barking up the wrong tree. It was in “park”, I imagine. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-shut-in-car-in-parking-lot-need-answer-fast/581646/84 "2011-05-13T02:28:51Z")
For a long time Fords were notorious about jumping into gear from park. Ford specifically required you to set the parking brake if you left it running. I don’t know if they ever fixed it or not. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-shut-in-car-in-parking-lot-need-answer-fast/581646/85 "2011-05-13T02:34:28Z")
Since we like cites around here, I have a couple more for those inclined to click links. [This one is a list of states with specific laws regarding pets locked in cars.](http://www.animallaw.info/articles/qvuspetsincars.htm) [And here’s a printable PDF from the ASPCA](http://www.aspca.org/Blog/~/media/files/pet-care/pets-in-hot-cars.pdf), that they encourage anyone to print and keep in your glovebox or somewhere handy. It can be given to people or left on a windshield, and can at least help back you up a little if you alert a driver to their mistake and give it to them at the same time. Sometimes a little literature can help the informer look not so crazy. [Here is the ASPCA article these are linked from.](http://www.aspca.org/Blog/cruelty-alert-pets-suffering.aspx) It’s one thing if all the windows of the car are rolled down all the way. Cracking a couple of windows is not sufficient. For those who insist on leaving their animals in a parked car, you need to resign yourself to the fact that some do-gooder who knows how hot it can get in a car and how fast, just might go looking for you, and if they can’t find you, they just might call the cops. How exactly are they supposed to know how long you’ve been gone from the vehicle? As a trained professional, I may be able to assess whether the dog seems in distress, but I also know that as soon as the dog appears to be in distress _it’s probably too late_. It’s preferable to get the dog out before that happens. So, go ahead and take your dog for that ride. Just expect someone to call you out on it occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-shut-in-car-in-parking-lot-need-answer-fast/581646/86 "2011-05-13T02:58:42Z")
> [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](#): > > \I would never put my dog in danger. I’m sure you would never _intentionally_ put your dog in danger, but as shown in **The Fine Print** ’s thread, _none_ of us are above momentary inattention. If we can’t take our dogs in wherever we go, we don’t take them. Even leaving the A/C on has its risks and gives a false sense of security. If you’re gone too long and the engine stalls, you’re left with the same results. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-shut-in-car-in-parking-lot-need-answer-fast/581646/87 "2011-05-13T03:08:12Z")
> [@thelabdude](#): > > For a long time Fords were notorious about jumping into gear from park. Ford specifically required you to set the parking brake if you left it running. I don’t know if they ever fixed it or not. You need to be ‘told’ to apply the brake, when the engine’s running and you’re not in the car?! :eek: Yesterday I had a thought that the color of your car should reflect the standard of your driving - dictated by how many tests you’d passed or failed. For example if you pass an advanced test you’d drive a silver car, and if you can only pass the basic test it should be pink. You’re free to have your car sprayed when you get the requisite licence. Sure this sounds a bit Adolf-ish but new, controversial ideas often do. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-shut-in-car-in-parking-lot-need-answer-fast/581646/88 "2011-05-13T03:12:35Z")
Sort of relevant is this Pulitzer Prize-winning [article](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/27/AR2009022701549.html) that ran in the Washington Post a couple of years ago about parents who forgot their children in overheated cars. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-shut-in-car-in-parking-lot-need-answer-fast/581646/89 "2011-05-13T03:15:32Z")
> [@thelabdude](#): > > For a long time Fords were notorious about jumping into gear from park. Ford specifically required you to set the parking brake if you left it running. I don’t know if they ever fixed it or not. You don’t have to set the parking brake, but in my Ford, with a console-mounted automatic, you can’t shift out of Park unless your foot is depressing the brake pedal. If my brake light fuse blows, I can’t shift at all unless I use a screwdriver to depress an inset emergency release switch. So I guess the chance of it slipping out of Park on its own is relatively small. ---
**Author:** ![misterW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@misterW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misterW)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-shut-in-car-in-parking-lot-need-answer-fast/581646/90 "2011-05-13T03:15:46Z")
> [@Ruby](#): > > I’m sure you would never _intentionally_ put your dog in danger, but as shown in **The Fine Print** ’s thread, _none_ of us are above momentary inattention. If we can’t take our dogs in wherever we go, we don’t take them. Even leaving the A/C on has its risks and gives a false sense of security. If you’re gone too long and the engine stalls, you’re left with the same results. Tragic and sad, yes. Momentary inattention, no. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-shut-in-car-in-parking-lot-need-answer-fast/581646/91 "2011-05-13T05:15:31Z")
This thread has given me the idea that, if I need to leave my dog in the car - and sometimes you do need to - I should prop a sign up in the windscreen saying: ‘I left my dog in the car at [whatever time]. I will be back within [10, 20, 30 minutes depending on local climates.)’ A laminated sign where you could change the times. Would that work? Obviously it wouldn’t work for **TheFinePrint** because that was accidental; I’m sorry to hear about your lovely dog. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-shut-in-car-in-parking-lot-need-answer-fast/581646/92 "2011-05-14T00:08:28Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > If the exterior temperature is 72F, the car will reach an internal temp of 110F in 30 minutes. > [Hyperthermia Deaths of Children in Vehicles](http://ggweather.com/heat/#heating) > > - I think we need more common sense and less fear mongering. Because somebody with an agenda put something up on the net doesn’t mean it is true. Leaving a dog in the car is like a lot of other things, if you don’t use a little common sense, yes it can be dangerous. It is like using a cell phone while driving. First of all, I leave my dogs in the car frequently, but I am careful of the weather. The Monday before last we must have left Sampson an hour or 2 while we visited some kids. It was dark, cool, and raining. He was alive and well when the kids came out to see him a little. Today I needed to pick up my Famotidine prescription at Wal_Mart. It was warm and sunny when Sampson and I were out. I decided not to risk Wal_Mart. You never know how long the line will be and all too often they have given me the blue plastic boxes with blister packs that I hate and I have to make them dig up a bottle of pills. (My preferences are in the computer, they ignore them.) Instead, I coughed up the extra go get some generic ones at Dollar General where I really could make it out in 5 minutes. With the windows cracked, the truck was hardly warmer than outside when I got back. I guess it is expecting too much for do gooders to use a little common sense and not panic over nothing. At least look at how the dog is doing. If it seems to be OK, butt out. Don’t be so arrogant as to think you know what is best. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-shut-in-car-in-parking-lot-need-answer-fast/581646/93 "2011-05-14T23:56:13Z")
> [@thelabdude](#): > > Because somebody with an agenda put something up on the net doesn’t mean it is true. I think by “put something on the net” you meant “Published in the medical journal _Pediatrics_.” ([link here](http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/116/1/e109.full.pdf+html)) So, yes, the contents of the article are as true as peer-reviewed medical science can make them at the moment. Anyway I can’t believe it doesn’t go without saying but yes the car heating up on a 72F day _requires sunshine_. You got me. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-shut-in-car-in-parking-lot-need-answer-fast/581646/94 "2011-05-15T00:24:40Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > I think by “put something on the net” you meant “Published in the medical journal _Pediatrics_.” ([link here](http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/116/1/e109.full.pdf+html)) So, yes, the contents of the article are as true as peer-reviewed medical science can make them at the moment. > > Anyway I can’t believe it doesn’t go without saying but yes the car heating up on a 72F day _requires sunshine_. You got me. That is a pretty thorough-looking article, but haven’t most of us spent longer than 30 minutes sitting in an un air-conditioned car? Even presuming that somehow the car not being on the move makes a difference, a lot of us will surely have sat in an unmoving car for 30 mins where the ambient temperature was 72 degrees. Especially since they’re saying that cracking the window open makes no difference. Why are we not all dead from these experiences? There must be something else at play. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-shut-in-car-in-parking-lot-need-answer-fast/581646/95 "2011-05-15T00:25:10Z")
I would just like to point out that nobody in this thread who has said “do-gooders should mind their own business because responsible dog owners like me can leave our dogs in the car safely” has described a situation anything like the one I did in the OP: 72 F, car parked in sun, windows rolled up, owner gone for more than 20 minutes. I mean, I am always happy to read other people’s anecdotes about what type of medication packaging they prefer from Wal-Mart, but that doesn’t have a whole lot to do with the thread topic. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-shut-in-car-in-parking-lot-need-answer-fast/581646/96 "2011-05-15T00:28:16Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > That is a pretty thorough-looking article, but haven’t most of us spent longer than 30 minutes sitting in an un air-conditioned car? Even presuming that somehow the car not being on the move makes a difference, a lot of us will surely have sat in an unmoving car for 30 mins where the ambient temperature was 72 degrees. Especially since they’re saying that cracking the window open makes no difference. Why are we not all dead from these experiences? There must be something else at play. I have not spent longer than 30 minutes inside a closed-up car sitting in direct sunlight, because it would become oppressively hot and I would feel the need to open a door or window to let fresh air in. The reason I know this is that I have experienced it, on multiple occasions. The next time it’s 70 F or so, turn your car off, close all the windows and doors, park it where the sun is shining right on the windshield, and see how long it takes before you become sweaty and uncomfortable. Will it kill you? Probably not, but you’re not a dog or an infant, both of which have a lot more difficulty regulating internal body temperature than an adult human does. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-shut-in-car-in-parking-lot-need-answer-fast/581646/97 "2011-05-15T00:31:58Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > That is a pretty thorough-looking article, but haven’t most of us spent longer than 30 minutes sitting in an un air-conditioned car? Even presuming that somehow the car not being on the move makes a difference, a lot of us will surely have sat in an unmoving car for 30 mins where the ambient temperature was 72 degrees. Especially since they’re saying that cracking the window open makes no difference. Why are we not all dead from these experiences? There must be something else at play. I think what’s different is that dogs don’t have sweat glands, and small children are usually strapped into car seats. Adults can and do roll down the windows or move the car to a shady spot, or _get out of the car_. Dogs and small children can’t do that. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-shut-in-car-in-parking-lot-need-answer-fast/581646/98 "2011-05-15T01:13:53Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I have not spent longer than 30 minutes inside a closed-up car sitting in direct sunlight, because it would become oppressively hot and I would feel the need to open a door or window to let fresh air in. The reason I know this is that I have experienced it, on multiple occasions. > > The next time it’s 70 F or so, turn your car off, close all the windows and doors, park it where the sun is shining right on the windshield, and see how long it takes before you become sweaty and uncomfortable. > > Will it kill you? Probably not, but you’re not a dog or an infant, both of which have a lot more difficulty regulating internal body temperature than an adult human does. I’ve done it many, many times. Not as a driver, but as a passenger, especially when I was a kid. I _lived_ in my car for a short period as a teenager (I mean actually lived, not metaphorically). And that study claimed that rolling the windows down made very little difference. It not only didn’t kill me, but it wasn’t hugely uncomfortable either. If the temperature had gone to 112 degrees, it would have been, so what was making that not happen? > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I think what’s different is that dogs don’t have sweat glands, and small children are usually strapped into car seats. Adults can and do roll down the windows or move the car to a shady spot, or _get out of the car_. Dogs and small children can’t do that. Well, the study was about the ambient temperature of the car - it didn’t actually talk about kids’ or animals’ reactions to it. And if it was a car that had some areas in shade and others not, then that would add an extra variable. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-shut-in-car-in-parking-lot-need-answer-fast/581646/99 "2011-05-15T01:15:15Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > I’ve done it many, many times. Not as a driver, but as a passenger, especially when I was a kid. I _lived_ in my car for a short period as a teenager (I mean actually lived, not metaphorically). And that study claimed that rolling the windows down made very little difference. It not only didn’t kill me, but it wasn’t hugely uncomfortable either. If the temperature had gone to 112 degrees, it would have been, so what was making that not happen? Can I just ask you why you’ve had occasion to sit in a closed-up car in direct sunlight on a warm spring/summer day on “many, many” occasions? I mean, I realize you said that you lived in your car, but why in the hell wouldn’t you park in the shade, or open a window, or something? ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-shut-in-car-in-parking-lot-need-answer-fast/581646/100 "2011-05-15T01:16:57Z")
So those abused dogs were still alive, and well enough to be yapping. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-shut-in-car-in-parking-lot-need-answer-fast/581646.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-shut-in-car-in-parking-lot-need-answer-fast/581646.md?page=6)