The Yorkton SPCA says pet owners continue to leave their pets in cars in the sweltering heat.
“Probably every other phone call, we get a lot of phone calls about it,” Joan Kobylko with the Yorkton SPCA said. “Not all of them are warranted but yeah, it’s pretty constant in the summer.”
This issue isn't being taken lightly by the RCMP.
“I ran our stats and we have roughly 50 from the beginning of May to now,” Const. Fairbarn with the Yorkton RMCP said.
The city will be one of the first in Saskatchewan to get special constable officers trained in dealing with these cases.
“Dogs don't essentially have sweat glands like people do and because the only way that they're allowed to blow off excessive heat is through panting or mild sweating in their paw pads, they get extremely hot really quickly,” Dr. Deana Schenher with the Animal Health Centre of Melville said.
“It causes distress to an animal,” Kobylko said. “You can cause severe injury and brain damage in as little as 10 minutes. Nobody wants to do that to their dog, they all think that they're doing something wonderful by taking them along, but they don’t want to sit in a toaster oven while you go shopping.”
Yorkton RCMP say that criminal charges, a monetary fine or even prison time, could be the punishment for leaving a dog in a hot vehicle.
Dr. Schnher says to make sure there is water always available to pets, and walk them during cooler times of day.
