Protecting our precious pets
PET BULLETIN
‘Mews and Yips’ from the Central Aroostook Humane Society
By Gail Wieder
Spring is finally here! This would be a great time to add a new fur baby to your family.
Check out the Central Aroostook Humane Society in Presque Isle. We have some awesome cats and dogs looking for their forever home. These animals need love and care from you. Some may be older and already potty trained. I love older dogs for that reason; also, they are more settled down.
Check us out on Facebook, or drop in to see us and see what we have, there may be that special cat or dog just for you. 
Well, folks, it is the time of year again when some of us notice that an animal is in a car and the windows are rolled down an inch or two. When it is extremely hot out, it is twice as hot in the car. This is one of my biggest “pet” peeves.
I see this too often, and I am torn in what to do. If the animal was distressed, I would call the police immediately. Sometimes I have sat and timed the person, waiting for them to come out, or just sat and kept an eye on the animal. This is very distressing for me; do I call the authorities? What do I do? What would you do? I am sure there are others out there with the same question.
The inside of a closed-up car can reach deadly temperatures, even with the windows part way down. You may mean well by taking the animal with you. You’re only going to be a minute inside the store, just long enough to pick up bread and milk. But what happens if you get in the store and it is busy, and it’s 20 minutes before you get back to your car? Or what if you meet a friend or relative you haven’t seen in a long time and you start talking, and before you know it an hour has gone by and the animal is still in the hot car?
Even when parked in the shade, an animal can succumb to heatstroke or even death left unattended. If you have ever parked outside you know that your car will heat up quickly. Heat coming through the windows is absorbed by the interior and the glass acts as an insulator. The temperature in your car can get up to 200 degrees, depending on the temp outside and the kind of vehicle you have and also how long it has been in the sun.
Animals are not able to open a window or door like we can. Typically they will be quiet as heat overcomes them so there won’t be barking and whining to alert that they are in trouble. Cracking a window doesn’t help; it doesn’t prevent the temp in the car from rising.
Leaving an animal in a car is dangerous, deadly and illegal.
In June 2011 a bill was passed: An Act to Improve the Protection of Animals. This bill offers better protection for animals in distress left in enclosed vehicles, which is especially important this time of year.
Now, in addition to animal control officers, police officers and humane agents, firefighters, first-responders and even licensed security guards will be able to remove a distressed animal from a motor vehicle. This is important, because often animal control officers cover more than one town or only work part time, resulting in delayed response time that can be deadly for a dog or any animal locked in a hot vehicle.
A study by the Animal Protection Institute showed that even moderately warm temperatures outside can quickly lead to deadly temps inside a closed vehicle. Report pets in a hot car to the police immediately.
You can find more tips at about.com on summer car safety for pets. Please check this site out yourself. There is so much info and great tips to help if you find yourself in a situation like this.
Please stop by the shelter to check out our pets that are available for adoption. We are open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., closing for lunch 12-12:30. Check us out on Petfinders.com or Facebook.
Please be responsible: spay and neuter your pets.
Gail Wieder is a member of the Board of Directors of the Central Aroostook Humane Society.
