Rifle Police Department is using a sad situation to teach a valuable safety lesson to the community. A dog left in a hot car in Garfield County died of heat exhaustion after the owner lost track of time. Rifle PD has a simple message: Leave Your Dogs Safely At Home! “Every year hundreds of pets, and on average 38 children, die from heat exhaustion because they are left in a hot car,” shares Rifle PD. “It’s a horrible way to die. And it’s easily preventable. For instance, instead of going straight to the store after a nice walk with your dog, drop your dog off at home and then go to the store.” Rifle PD also debunks popular myths. Leaving the car windows open does not keep the vehicle from heating up. Parking in the shade may help but is not the solution as it can still turn into an oven and as time passes the shade can shift away from the vehicle. Leaving a vehicle running and air conditioning on, as in the recent case, does not guarantee the dog’s safety as the vehicle can overheat and stall when the engine gets too hot.
