RSPCA WA chief executive David van Ooran sits inside a hot car to prove a point.
Camera IconRSPCA WA chief executive David van Ooran sits inside a hot car to prove a point. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Heat on pet owners

Michele Nugent, Fremantle GazetteFremantle Gazette

East Fremantle resident David van Ooran is the RSPCA’s WA chief executive and he subjected himself to the distressing experience to make a point ” that motorists should not leave their pets, namely dogs, in their car.

In the RSPCA experiment, Mr van Ooren sat inside a silver car that had been left running for 10 minutes with the airconditioner on with a starting temperature of 35C.

The engine was then turned off and he sat in the car for 10 minutes by which time the interior temperature reached 53.5C.

‘RSPCA decided to conduct this experiment to show the devastating effects of leaving a dog in a hot car. Inspectors are receiving far too many calls about dogs being left in hot cars ” 190 calls so far and we are only half way through summer,’ Mr van Ooran said.

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‘At the end of the experiment, I was covered in sweat and felt pretty ordinary and I wasn’t wearing a fur coat, so please do not leave your dog in a hot car, not even for a short period of time as it can be fatal.

‘People need to understand that these temperatures can be fatal if you lock a dog in a hot car. If you are going out; please leave your dog at home in the shade with plenty of cool water.’