A spare key fob can get your dog out of a hot car
If you find your dog locked in a car on a warm day, call 911 before you do anything else. Once help is on the way, a spare key fob opens the door in seconds, so no one has to break a window to reach the animal.
How quickly a closed car heats up
The American Veterinary Medical Association reports that the temperature inside a closed car rises by about 19°F within 10 minutes, 29°F within 20 minutes, 34°F within 30 minutes and 43°F within an hour. According to the association, the increase is roughly the same whether the outside temperature is 70 or 110 degrees. Parking in the shade does not make the car safe, and leaving the windows cracked makes no difference.
In the Tampa Bay climate, a brief errand with the dog waiting in the car can become dangerous before you return.
What a spare key changes
When the only key is locked inside the car or has been lost, a spare fob kept in a pocket, in a purse or with someone nearby allows you to open the car yourself and reach your dog immediately.
Florida law also addresses rescues that require forcing a door. Section 768.139 of the Florida Statutes protects a person who enters a vehicle, by force or otherwise, to remove a dog or another household pet from civil liability for damage to the vehicle, but only if that person:
- (a) determines that the vehicle is locked or that there is otherwise no reasonable way for the animal to get out without assistance;
- (b) has a good-faith, reasonable belief, based on the known circumstances, that the animal is in imminent danger of suffering harm;
- (c) ensures that law enforcement is notified or 911 is called before entering the vehicle or immediately afterward;
- (d) uses no more force than is necessary to enter the vehicle and remove the animal; and
- (e) remains with the animal in a safe location, reasonably close to the vehicle, until law enforcement or another first responder arrives.
A spare key makes a forced entry unnecessary, and with it the broken window.
Where Ben got the idea
Ben makes spare key fobs on site for handlers at AKC dog shows in Florida, so that each handler has a backup before anything goes wrong. The same precaution protects any owner who drives with a dog.
Have the spare made while your key still works
Copying a fob from one that still works is less expensive and faster than creating a new key after every copy has been lost. Ben travels to you and cuts and programs the spare on site from his fully equipped van.
To arrange a spare, call 813-750-2660. We answer 24/7.
