by Lara Jackson

Created on: December 01, 2009   Last Updated: January 24, 2010

I admit it. Once or twice, when I was younger, because it was convenient, I left my dogs in the car on hot days. Oh, but the excuse machine works in my head: it wasn't that hot. I left the windows partially open. I was only going to be away from the car for a few minutes. And my favorite excuse: one of my dogs has separation anxiety, and leaving her home means occasionally returning to a disgusting mess or destroyed furniture. I'm done with excuses, now. I was lucky, and so were my dogs - they are still with me, happy and healthy. Not all pets make it out of hot cars alive.

I tell you this about myself, because as a rule, pets don't die in hot cars because their owners are cruel, unloving people who don't really care about the animal, anyway. I doubt anyone whose pet died this way actually wanted to see it happen. It's easy for those on the right side of the fence to judge, after the fact, a dog owner who left a dog in a hot car to die. "If they just hadn't been so stupid," we say. "If they actually cared, they never would have left the dog."

But how many people who don't care about their dogs ever bring them along for car rides? Uncaring owners rarely bother. It's those of us who love our dogs that are far more susceptible to this tragic mistake. We love our dogs, so we want them to be with us. Our dogs love car rides, and we want them to be happy. It only seems logical that the more we care for our dogs, the more we bring them along on car rides. Most of the time, everyone is happier when the dog can come along, especially the dog. Except for that one "wrong" day, that one mistake. It happens all too easily, but not because owners don't care.

The results are terrible. Some pets simply die of dehydration, which sets in rapidly once they begin to pant. Others die of hyperthermia (overheating). The body literally cooks; tissues burn, organs fail. It's often messy.

Think of how uncomfortable it is to get into your car after it's been sitting a while on a hot day. The heat is almost unbearable, and some surfaces are so hot they can burn. Now imagine not being able to leave the car, open the windows or start the air conditioner. Within only a couple of minutes it becomes almost unbearably hot, and our bodies demand we leave the car or turn on the air. Pets, of course, don't have those options.

It can happen at temperatures as low as the 60's. The glass and enclosed space of the car acts as a greenhouse, and heat rapidly builds up to dangerous temperatures. One series

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