Summer Heat Can Be Dangerous to Pets
Animal Control Officers are often dispatched to calls regarding animals left in cars. This can be an extremely dangerous, even lethal, situation for a pet. Temperatures can climb 30 degrees per minute inside vehicles parked in direct sunlight, even with windows left cracked. In a test conducted by a DAS Officer on an 83 degree morning, the temperature inside a car parked in direct sun reached 130 degrees within 10 minutes, even with the windows down about 2 inches. This is deadly to a dog. On the same day, a thermometer was placed in the bed of a pickup truck and the temperature reached more than 125 degrees in just a few minutes. This can burn the pads of your dog's feet. Imagine taking off your shoes and trying to stand on metal or plastic that is 125 degrees!

Animals should not be left in vehicles.

Information from the Humane Society of the United States:
Warning: Don't Leave Pets in Cars
Tips for a Fun, Safe Summer for Your Pet

Provide your pet with plenty
of cool water and shade.

A doghouse in the middle of the backyard is not "shade"...
in fact it is often
hotter inside and provides no
air circulation to cool your dog.