Yellowknife, NWT – The city of Yellowknife is reminding residents not to leave pets unattended in vehicles as warmer temperatures set in.
The city’s Municipal Enforcement Division says two dogs were rescued from over-heated vehicles and taken to Great Slave Animal Hospital last week.
In both cases, a locksmith was called to free the animal.
Doug Gillard is Manager of Municipal Enforcement with the city.
He says anyone caught leaving their pets in conditions like this could face stiff penalties.
“The section that we dealt with here was providing a dog with reasonable protection against injurious heat and cold so in this case it was injurious heat. The fine for this section is a voluntary penalty of $250 but that can also go to a mandatory court appearance where the maximum fine s $2,500 under the by-law.”
Gillard says charges have been laid in one incident and are pending in the other.
He says officers conducted a test under similar conditions last week and found that after thirty minutes the temperature inside a vehicle can reach 54 degrees Celsius.
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