For many people, a few minutes are enough, whether it is a fast commission, a jump in the pharmacy or a coffee at the bar. Park, turn off the engine, close the door and you think that the dog can wait peacefully in the car. Outside the sun shines, the sky appears clear, then the illusion is born that five minutes pass quickly. Unfortunately, Those five minutes for a dog can turn into a sentenceespecially during the summer.
How much does the temperature increase in the car in the sun?
The cars in the sun warm up with a disarming speed. A passenger compartment that records 24 degrees outside can reach 34 degrees in less than ten minutesand In fifteen minutes it can climb over 40 degrees. The dog inside has no way of opening a door, cannot lower the windows and ends up being trapped in a metal box that turns into a potentially fatal trap.
Because dogs risk a heat stroke in the car
The dog regulates its body temperature through breathing and sweating from the legs, but this system cannot maintain balance when the heat in the passenger compartment becomes suffocating. In a few minutes, body temperature can get up at dangerous levels, exceeding 41 degrees. At this point, the animal enters the state of thermal stress: Ansima, dehydrated, confuses, stagger, can lose knowledge.
The heat stroke does not represent a condition to be taken lightly. Lead to a malfunction of the internal organs, to collapse, to brain damage and can lead to death in a few minutes. A desperate race from the vet often turns out to be useless when the internal temperature is now too high.
The open windows are not enough to protect the dog
Many think that Leave the window willy enough to let the air enterbut it is a dangerous illusion. The air that enters warms the passenger compartment together with the sun and does not contribute to a real lowering of the temperature. Indeed, the greenhouse effect inside the car acts relentlessly, trapping the heat and making the space unbearable.
Short muzzle dogs, such as Bulldog and Carlini, suffer more from the conformation of the respiratory tract. Puppies, elderly and dogs with cardiac diseases are also more vulnerable. In them, the heat stroke advances with even greater speed, and does not always show clear symptoms before becoming irreversible.
Because the heat stroke can be lethal
The dog does not have the ability to “resist” the extreme heat. It is not a question of strength or patience, but of biological limits: The body overheats, and in a short time the organs begin to yield.
The kidneys stop working, the heart lies fatigue and the brain suffers damage. When the internal temperature exceeds a certain threshold, going back becomes impossible.
Leaving a dog by car in the sun is considered a crime of mistreatmentpunishable by law (as we will see later). Passers who notice a dog in difficulty can immediately contact the police and, in the event of an emergency, intervene to save the animal, breaking the window if necessary.
What to do to protect the dog from the heat
To avoid this risk, the simplest rule remains that of.
If you have to enter a shop, leave the dog at homein a cool place, with water available.
Alternatively, if the dog is necessarily traveling with us, it will have to take him with himor organize yourself with another person who can stay in the shadeso that rest and hydration are always guaranteed.
The legal consequences in Italy: what the law says
Leaving a closed dog in the car in the sun represents a violation of Italian laws. Article 727 of the criminal code punishes those who abandon pets or those who hold them in incompatible conditions with their naturewhen these conditions cause serious suffering. The sanction can consist inarrest up to one year or in onefine between 1,000 and 10,000 euros.
To configure the crime, it is not necessary to demonstrate effective damage to the animal or the will of the owner to provoke it, since The harmful potential of the conduct counts. The confirmed the Cassation with sentence no. 12436/2020condemning an owner who kept dogs in boxes without adequate air exchange, causing them unacceptable suffering.
An emblematic case concerns the dogs left by car. There Court of Cassationwith the sentence no. 44902/2012established that Leaving a dog closed in the car can be configured as mistreatment. In the story judged, a woman had left her dog by car during a day of intense heat. The dog had signs of anxiety and fear, confirmed by a veterinarian who intervened on the spot, who had clarified that “such behavior is incompatible with the nature of the animal, being able to cause him fear and suffering”. The discovery of excrements within the car had been interpreted as a consequence of the state of anxiety and fear lived by the animal.
The Court rejected the appeal of the woman, confirming the sentence to a fine of a thousand euros, in addition to the payment of the procedural costs and a sum in favor of the Bag of the Bags. This ruling strengthens the responsibility of the owners in guaranteeing the well -being and safety of animals, even in situations that many consider trivial. (Source)
Those who want to avoid legal consequences should make responsible choices: to park in shadow areas, guarantee air by opening the windows a little, maintain visual control over the dog and minimize absences. However, it remains a fixed point: The safest way to protect a dog is never left it only in the car in the sunnot even for a few minutes, and not even in winter!
We remind you that on the subject of animal rights, it has recently been A bill approved That tightens the penalties even more for those who are staining with mistreatment towards animals.
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