OMAHA, Neb — Four dogs died recently after being left out in the heat with another death still under investigation in Omaha. Now the Nebraska Humane Society warns if you take your pets outside, keep them cool or you'll be fined.
"They can go through heat exhaustion, then heat stroke, and then die within a matter of minutes in severe heat," says Misty Binau, Field Investigator for Animal Cruelty for N.H.S. While dogs left in hot cars continues to be an issue, dogs being left in yards in excessive heat has been a bigger problem for N.H.S.
"If you put your pet out in the yard he needs to have access to ventilated shade and also have plenty of cold, fresh water the entire time he's outside," says Pam Wiese, Spokesperson for N.H.S.
Those two things are key, and since dogs don't sweat to cool themselves down, having that shade is important.
"The way that dogs cool down is to (inhale) cooler air and to pant out hot air if there is no cooler air for them to (inhale) if there is no way for them to get into shade and find cooler air they can't find a way to cool their body temperature down," says Wiese.
N.H.S. has also received plenty of calls of dogs in hot cars too, so they urge pet owners to leave their furry friends inside where it's cool, and also want the public to give them a call if they see a pet in distress due to the heat.
"On several cases where animals didn't die, we were able to take quick action because someone noticed it and they called us right away," saus Binau.
If you see a pet in distress due to the heat, call N.H.S. at 402-444-7800 ex. 1.
