Swan City residents reminded not to leave pets in vehicle in the heat

Jun 21, 2018 | 5:30 AM

With the recent warm weather, people are being reminded to not lock pets in vehicles.

Supervisor with Grande Prairie Enforcement Services, Ross Gear, says in some cases where it could be a life or death situation for the animal, an enforcement officer will intervene.

“What we look for is if the animal is actually in distress. There is a number of things our officers look for. If they think the animal is actually in distress, they wield the authority to go in and remove the animal.”

He adds, for the most part, GP residents care enough about their pets to not put them in that situation.

“There are a lot of people in Grande Prairie that own animals. My experience has been people are very serious about animals and they take good care of them.”

Gear adds the same can be said for a person as well.

In most cases, an enforcement officer will try to contact the owner if a pet is locked in a vehicle on a hot day. They will only intervene if its a life and death situation.

Gear says while he doesn’t have an exact temperature when it poses a risk, there are a couple of factors that come in to play.

“It would be how warm it is outside but also how long the animal has been inside [the vehicle]. If it’s very hot for five minutes, it’s probably not going to matter. If it’s a warm day and the animal happens to be in there for an extended period of time, it can continue to heat inside the vehicle.”

Gear says it can also depend on the animal and fur thickness.

There is a $100 fine for people who leave pets in vehicles unattended.

by Brady Ratzlaff