In recent weeks, Wheat Ridge police have stepped in to help twice after dogs were left alone in overheated spaces. "After we were able to get into the trailer, didn't see any water. There's no air conditioning running," Wheat Ridge Police Department spokesperson Alex Rose said.
Just a week later, officers were called out for another dog left in a hot car. Passersby called police after someone left their shih tzu behind in the car while they went into a nearby business to shop. Rose said they take these cases seriously. "Cars heat up really quickly," said Britney Lombard, Injury Prevention Manager at Children's Hospital Colorado."They can heat up as many as 20 degrees in 10 minutes and will continue to heat up after that. So even on a 70 or 80 degree day, it can become dangerous really quickly."Lombard said a child's body temperature can rise five times faster than an adult's, and children can overheat at lower temperatures, making even cooler summer days concerning.
"These cases are especially painful," Lombard said."And over half of these cases a child has unintentionally been left in a car, meaning the caregiver maybe got distracted or got involved with a different project and forgot the child was in their car at that time." seven kids have died in Colorado from heatstroke in a car in the past 25 years.