Dog swelters in car, lucky to live

Francine Shields

High temperatures and extreme humidity almost led to the death of a dog left in a car in Whangarei while its owner was shopping.

MetService figures show the highest temperature in Northland this week so far was 26C, though humidity of up to 99 per cent made it feel warmer.

About 4.30pm on Tuesday the SPCA rescued a fox terrier-cross that was unresponsive due to heat exhaustion. A member of the public notified them.

Whangarei SPCA chief inspector Francine Shields said it was "just not good enough". While the car windows were slightly open, the temperature inside was about 38C, Ms Shields said.

It was unclear how long the dog had been left in the car but Ms Shields said if the SPCA had not responded when it did the dog probably would have died.

Coming into the summer season, animal owners needed to be reminded to take special care of their animals, Ms Shields said. The dog found on Tuesday recovered after SPCA staff cooled and hydrated the animal. The owner collected the dog the same day and received a warning.

In extreme cases, owners can be charged with failing to provide for an animal, which carries a possible fine of up to $50,000 or six months' imprisonment.

MetService meteorologist Georgina Griffiths said that Whangarei recorded a high of 26C on Monday, while it was not much cooler on Tuesday with a high of 25.4C. The only place to beat that on Tuesday was Kerikeri, with a temperature of 25.6C.

"The last two days will have felt sticky and very warm because of the very high humidity," Ms Griffiths said.

Kaitaia averaged 92 per cent humidity over the past three days, Whangarei 80 per cent, Kaikohe 91 per cent and Kerikeri 84 per cent.

Kerikeri's humidity reached the highest in the region when it peaked at 99 per cent on Tuesday at 11am.

Ruakaka Surf Life Saving captain Tania Ahrens said the beach was busy last weekend with up to 200 people there at one time. However, she did warn that at just 16C the water was still colder than usual.

The MetService expected that after slightly cooler temperatures this weekend the start of December was likely to bring dryer conditions as summer was officially welcomed.