Don't leave pets in hot cars, OPP warns

With hot weather in the forecast, provincial police are reminding pet owners not to leave their pets unattended in a motor vehicle.

On a day where the temperature is 26 degrees Celsius, the temperature inside a vehicle parked in the shade reaches 32 degrees, and 71 degrees if the vehicle is in the sun.

Dogs and cats pant to cool themselves, but this is ineffective when they are surrounded by heat.

Owners leaving a pet in a hot car can face charges that include causing unnecessary suffering, injuring or endangering an animal, or neglect of an animal.

Temperatures are expected to climb to above 26 C across much of southern Ontario on Thursday.

In Windsor, the high is expected to be 27 C while in Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton and Toronto, it is supposed to climb to 26 C.

Earlier this week, the OSPCA launched its No Hot Pets campaign to educate people about the issue.

The senior inspector for northern Ontario said pet owners should leave their animals at home if the weather is hot outside.

"A dog's normal temperature is 39 degrees [and] when they reach 41, they can only withstand that for a small amount of time before there can be brain damage," Lynn Michaud said. "[When] you have that ongoing exposure, it can cause death, and we have had animals die."

Michaud said people should contact the OSPCA or police if they see an animal alonein a vehicle.