Pet Safety Tips for High Temperatures

Published on August 06, 2024

SAN ANTONIO (August 6, 2024) –Triple digit temperatures are in the forecast this week and Animal Care Services is urging residents to plan protection now for their outdoor pets. 

Dogs can easily overheat outside because of the way they cool their bodies through panting. This is much less effective than sweating, leaving outdoor pets at much greater risk. 

Many residents keep pets outdoors in the yard, and some do not think twice before taking pets to the lake or on an errand.

The following are tips to help pets beat the heat:

• Bring pets indoors on heat advisory days. A crate in the laundry area or the bathroom can provide a cool, secure place for a pet that usually lives outside.

• Fresh water and shelter should always be available. It is illegal not to provide these necessities for your pets.

• Providing shade for outdoor pets is the law. Chain tethers of any type are not allowed at any time of the year.

• A shaded parking spot offers little protection inside a vehicle on a sunny day. Cracking the window of a parked vehicle does little to reduce the temperature inside. It takes only ten minutes for the interior of a car to reach 102 degrees on an average 85-degree day; in thirty minutes, that temperature can reach 120 degrees or more. 

• If you see a pet locked in a hot vehicle, act immediately. Jot down the vehicle’s description (including a license plate number) and go into a nearby store to have the owner paged. If you do not get a response, call Animal Care Services or the Police Department immediately. 

• Per City ordinance, both Animal Care Officers and the police have the right to break a vehicle’s window if an animal is endangered inside. 

• It is illegal for dogs to ride unsecured in the back of trucks. These pets face the same heat stroke risk as those locked in vehicles, in addition to the threat of burned paws and accidental falls in transport. 

• Symptoms of heat stress include excessive thirst, heavy panting, glazed eyes, vomiting, restlessness, lethargy, fever, dizziness, a rapid heartbeat, profuse drooling or salivating and unconsciousness. 

• If an animal shows signs of heat stress, gradually lower their body temperature, and get them to a veterinarian immediately. 

Violations of the City’s law governing animals in the heat or those left in vehicles could face animal cruelty charges if their pet sustains injury or death because of their actions.