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Taking the heat: not a good idea

The long-awaited rays of summer sun may be too much of a good thing for small children and dogs left in parked cars.

Babies and toddlers are especially vulnerable to high temperatures, which, in a car, rise very quickly, says Dr. Catherine McLaren. The researcher’s 2005 study demonstrated that even on a sunny 72-degree day, temperatures inside a car could reach 117 degrees Fahrenheit in one hour. “Vehicles heat up rapidly with the majority of temperature rise occurring within the first 15-30 minutes,” McLaren says. Leaving the windows open 1.5 inches doesn’t make much difference. “If people knew the danger of leaving their children in the car, they probably wouldn’t do it.”

Heat stroke is also a danger for dogs left in cars, writes Joy Butler on the website suite101.com

“Contrary to what most people believe, dogs overheat more quickly than humans do. Heat inside a parked car can build, in just a few short minutes to as much as 40 degrees above the outside temperature. Never, ever, leave a dog in a parked car or without water in the sun.”

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