It is never safe to keep children, seniors, or animals locked in a car. Even so, warm weather can make it a deadly mistake. High temperatures can cause severe dehydration and irreparable organ damage leading to death. After only 10 minutes, even a mild 70 degrees can turn into a scalding 90 degrees in a car with closed windows. 

What can you do if you see a dog or other animal locked in a parked car?

Take down the car’s make, model, and license plate number. Walk into nearby businesses and have them make an announcement to see if they can locate the car owner. Notify the manager or security guard in case they can do more to find the owner. 

If the owner can’t be found, call the non-emergency number of the local police or animal control. Tell them where you are and wait by the car for them to arrive. Keep an eye on the animal for severe signs of deteriorating health. If the situations worsens before help arrives, call the number again and ask for advice.

Be careful not to do something that can cause you to become arrested or fined. 

Keep essential telephone numbers at hand. Among them, make sure you have your local animal control agency’s number, the police department’s non-emergency number, and a 24 hour medical and veterinary facility. Keep these numbers in your purse, your car’s glove compartment, and program them into your phone.

Take a course and stay current on CPR and life saving techniques. You never know when you may need to use these. There are many free apps and videos that you can have downloaded ontp your phone for quick reference.

Become familiarized with your state’s laws concerning the matter. 

If your town or state doesn’t have a law prohibiting that pets be left in parked cars, speak up. Do your part in getting these laws passed by contacting your local representatives or attending a town hall meeting to joing or start lobbying for one.

The following are existing laws for each state:

 1.  Arizona : A.R.S. § 13-2910

It is illegal to leave an animal “unattended and confined in a motor vehicle when physical injury to or death of the animal is likely to result.”

2.  California: Cal. Penal Code § 597.7

It is illegal to “leave or confine an animal in any unattended motor vehicle under conditions that endanger the health or well-being of an animal due to heat, cold, lack of adequate ventilation, or lack of food or water, or other circumstances that could reasonably be expected to cause suffering, disability, or death to the animal.”

3.  Illinois: 510 ILCS 70/7.1

It is illegal to “confine any animal in a motor vehicle in such a manner that places it in a life or health threatening situation by exposure to a prolonged period of extreme heat or cold, without proper ventilation or other protection from such heat or cold.”

 4.  Maine: 7 MRSA § 4019

The law states a window can be broken if an “animal’s safety, health or well-being appears to be in immediate danger from heat, cold or lack of adequate ventilation and the conditions could reasonably be expected to cause extreme suffering or death.”

5.  Maryland : MD Code, Transportation § 21-1004.1

It is illegal for a cat or dog to be in a “standing or parked motor vehicle in a manner that endangers the health or safety of the cat or dog.”

 6.  Minnesota: M.S.A. § 346.57

A cat or dog cannot be “unattended in a standing or parked motor vehicle in a manner that endangers the dog’s or cat’s health or safety.”

 7.  North Carolina: NC ST § 14-363.3

Illegal = “An animal that is confined in a motor vehicle under conditions that are likely to cause suffering, injury, or death to the animal due to heat, cold, lack of adequate ventilation, or under other endangering conditions.”

 8.  Nevada: N.R.S. 574.195

A cat or dog cannot be “unattended in a parked or standing motor vehicle during a period of extreme heat or cold or in any other manner that endangers the health or safety of the cat or dog.”

 9.  New Hampshire: N.H. Rev. Stat. 644:8-aa

“It shall be cruelty to confine an animal in a motor vehicle or other enclosed space in which the temperature is either so high or so low as to cause serious harm to the animal.”

10.  New Jersey: N.J.S.A. 4:22-26c

“A living animal or creature [cannot be] unattended in a vehicle under inhumane conditions adverse to the health or welfare of the living animal or creature.”

 11.  New York: NY Agri. & Mkts. § 353-d

“A companion animal [cannot be] confined in motor vehicle in extreme heat or cold without proper ventilation or other protection where confinement places companion animal in imminent danger of death or serious injury due to exposure.”

 12.  North Dakota: NDCC ST 36-21.1-03.1

Illegal = a dog or cat “unattended in a stationary or parked motor vehicle in a manner that endangers the animal’s health or safety.”

 13.  Rhode Island: 2014-S 2312A

“No owner or person shall confine any animal in a motor vehicle which is done in a manner that places the animal in a life threatening or extreme health threatening situation by exposing it to a prolonged period of extreme heat or cold, without proper ventilation or other protection from such heat or cold.”

 14.  South Dakota: S D C L § 40-1-36

“A cat, dog, or other small animal cannot be unattended in a standing or parked vehicle in a manner that endangers the health or safety of such animal.”

 15.  Vermont: 13 V.S.A. § 386

Breaking the law = leaving an animal “unattended in a standing or parked motor vehicle in a manner that would endanger the health or safety of the animal.”

 16.  West Virginia : W. Va. Code, § 61-8-19E

Criminal behavior = leaving an animal “unattended and confined in a motor vehicle when physical injury to or death of the animal is likely to result.”