You know that gross, hot, stuffy feeling that you feel when you first get into a car that's been sitting out in the sun for a while? The seats burn and you start sweating and feel like you can't breathe? Everyone knows it's not a great sensation, so why subject your dog to it?

Hundreds of pets die from heat exhaustion each year, due to neglectful owners who leave their loving companions in a car on too hot of a day. Most of these pet owners have the "oh, I'll be right out, he'll be fine" mentality. Which is not a great mentality to have on this topic.

Let's look at some numbers:

A study by San Fransisco State University revealed that on an 80 degree day, car interior temperatures can crawl to 99 in ten minutes, and 109 in twenty minutes...after 30 minutes, car interior temperatures reach an alarming 114 degrees. A study performed by the Louisiana Department of Public Health proved that a cloudy day doesn't equal protection for pets...the car interior temperature spiked to 125 degrees F in 20 minutes.

You may scoff at me and say that 114 degrees isn't too big of a deal. For your furry friends, it certainly is. Dogs can't sweat the way people do in order to cool down - their "cool-down" system includes panting and sweating through those teeny-tiny pads on their paws. Panting is great way for dogs to cool down, but if they only have the hot, stifle-y air in a hot car to breathe, panting won't work. That means that your dogs' body temperature can climb from the normal 102.5 degrees, risking damage to the cardiovascular and nervous systems. Dogs who've been in a hot car for too long are often found comatose and dehydrated, with potentially fatal consequences.

So how do we remedy the issue of dogs in hot cars?

Don't allow for a situation where your dog is in a hot car.

"I would never leave my dog in a hot car! But I see people do it all the time...what can I do?"

Thanks to some well-educated lawmakers, some states have laws in place regarding leaving dogs in cars in hot weather. Some states, not all. In the states with these laws, great! Your state has taken steps to protect animal welfare. In the states that haven't yet gotten around to such laws, petition to your local lawmakers! Citizens can make a difference, and it will be for the betterment of your community.

Regardless of whether or not your state has laws protecting dogs in hot cars, you can always call the appropriate authorities if you ever see an animal in distress. So while you might feel helpless looking at a panting pup locked in a hot car, you're not as helpless as you think.

Remember: when you're going to Starbucks to get your mocha-fropa-lattechino, leave your pup at home. He'll certainly thank you. And if you do see a dog suffering in a hot car, there are things you can do to help.