The Scientific Method

Summer is finally here and we all have heard about the evils of leaving a pet in the car, even with the window's open a slit to keep it cool inside. Gosh, it's supposed to get hot enough to fry an egg in there. Now, if you've been following me on twitter, you know that I have been trying to figure out how to get multiple pictures in a single post. Well this little experiment is dedicated to the scientific method and multiple posts in the search of truth.

It is 90 degrees here in Nassau county and the humidity is somewhere near 90%. My car is white, as you can see above and the rear windows are covered. Take my word for it (I could only post a limited number of pictures), it was around 80 in the car with the AC on. I parked the car and put this thermometer on the dash. This reading was at 1:51 today, 10 minutes after I got out of the car.

Now, you're going to say, "yea, but that's the dashboard. What about the seat" Once again, due to photo limitations, you will have to take my word for it. The shady seat was only 100 degrees. The sunny seat was about 110. Both pretty hot, I would think. But remember, my car is white and the windows are covered. So lets move to the next car in the parking lot.

This little black beauty has been sitting in the lot all day. Windows are up and as you can see the temperature on the seat is maxed out at 120. Could be higher, don't know, didn't want to break my brand new thermometer. I know that I will have other uses for it and I don't want to cook it the first time that I play with it.

So 120, probably won't cook an egg. The car's owner wouldn't let me try. Some silliness about ruining the cloth seats with yolk. Still, way too hot for a dog. A simple experiment showing how hot it can quickly get in a car. Of course we don't know how long a dog would actually last in this environment, but something in my professional oath probably prohibits me from putting my dog into the car to find out, no matter how much she keeps my up snoring at night.

So, as you can see, no live animals were harmed during this experiment. Don't leave your pets, or kids in the car unattended. We haven't seen any cases of heat stroke and lets keep it that way.

Keith Niesenbaum, VMD

www.TheVetsChoice.com