A Windsor company is hoping their donation will help keep pets safe in hot weather.
Ground Effects and Second Chance Animal Rescue of Windsor-Essex County are teaming up to provide the Windsor Police Service with a tool to combat instances of pets and young children being left alone in cars on hot days.
Ground Effects, which manufactures auto accessories, announced Thursday a donation of ten infrared thermometers to the Windsor Police Service.
With summer-like temperatures becoming more common, Windsor police Constable Andy Drouillard says it's important for people to understand that leaving a pet, or a child in a hot vehicle, even for a short time, can have devastating consequences.
An infrared thermometer. Blackburn News file photo.
"On a day like today when we're expecting 29 degrees Celsius, the temperature in a vehicle within ten minutes can reach potentially dangerous levels," says Drouillard. "After 30 minutes, potentially fatal levels."
Drouillard demonstrated the device on a parked vehicle that was in the sun for about 45 minutes. The temperature inside was 49 C, which is extremely dangerous. In a potential heat wave, where temperatures can reach between 35 C and 40 C, the inside of a parked car can be even more dangerous.
Windsor police have already received some calls from concerned citizens about pets being left in cars. Dogs and cats can only pant to cool themselves off, and they cannot sweat like humans. Drouillard says it does not matter if the driver has been gone for a couple of minutes or if the windows are rolled down.
Jim Scott, president of Ground Effects, says the company is inspired by the work at Second Chance Animal Rescue.
"When you see the work that the girls do with Second Chance, it's amazing," says Scott. "They work tirelessly. Every minute of time they have to volunteer, they volunteer. It's pretty neat."
The thermometers will be carried in specific police vehicles and supervisor's cruisers, according to Drouillard.