As we travel around this summer, we might bring our pets along to run errands. However, when it gets into the triple digits for heat indexes, we should leave our pets at home.

Panora’s Protecting Even the Strays (PETS) member Linda Shelley says leaving animals in a hot vehicle can have fatal implications.

“Even if you crack the windows, if it’s 85-(degrees) out it can be 102-(degrees) in 10 minutes in your car and in half an hour at least 120-degrees.”

She points out that other things can happen to your vehicle as well.

“Many people, especially police and animal shelter workers, if they see pets in a hot car and they’re suffering, they will break your window to save your pet.”

To hear more from Shelley about protecting animals against the summertime heat, as well as being a foster caregiver, listen to today’s Let’s Talk Guthrie County program.