A Hot Car Can Kill

A pet left in a hot vehicle isn’t safe. The high temperatures cause a risk of heat stroke, brain damage and in some cases death. The WHS is teaming up once again with River City Ford for another year of our ‘A Hot Car Can Kill’ campaign to work towards ending animal suffering in the summer months due to overheating in hot cars.

During the warmer weather the WHS Emergency Response team receives hundreds of calls about animals who are locked in hot vehicles, in 2018 alone the WHS received 155 calls to our emergency line in addition to calls received to 311, the Winnipeg Police Service and the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service. This is far too many instances, so the WHS and River City Ford want everyone to be aware of the risk of leaving a pet in a hot vehicle so someday that number can be zero.

“The fact is that there’s no safe amount of time for an animal to be left alone in a hot car,” says Heather Neil, WHS Director of Investigations and Emergency Response. “A pet in a hot vehicle, is a pet at risk. And we want to drastically reduce the number of pets at risk this summer.”

To bring light to this issue, the WHS in partnership with River City Ford have window decals available for vehicle owners to put on their vehicles. The decal is a PSA that ‘A Hot Car Can Kill’ and features the WHS emergency phone number, 204-982-2020 to call when seeing a dog inside a hot vehicle. Decals are available at the Winnipeg Humane Society and River City Ford. During the summer, every vehicle on the River City Ford lot will display this decal.

Vehicle owners who are looking for an upgrade can support the WHS just by purchasing their new vehicle through River City Ford. For the month of July, River City Ford will donate $250 to the WHS for every new vehicle sold. This donation helps the WHS to run programs like the emergency response team and provide critical care to over 9,000 animals annually, both in the shelter and in our community.

“River City Ford is excited to continue partnering with the Winnipeg Humane Society to help create awareness for this important issue,” says Kyle Forcier, River City Ford General Manager. “We need to be the voice for these animals and educate people on the dangers of leaving your pet inside a hot vehicle.”

If you see a dog inside a vehicle, please call the WHS Emergency line at 204-982-2020 to report it.