By Alex Bridges -- Daily Staff Writer

WINCHESTER — It doesn't take long for summer-like heat to become life-threatening for pets, as the owner of two small dogs found out Monday afternoon.

The owner of a Pomeranian and a corgi left the dogs in his vehicle on South Cameron Street without the windows rolled down, Winchester police animal control officer Nancy Mellott said Tuesday.

The dogs survived, and charges are pending against the owner, she said.

But the incident should serve as a warning to pet owners when the temperatures rise.

"Basically it was the city sheriff as well as some concerned citizens and the police department all responded out for a couple of dogs that had been left in a car," Mellott said. "Originally he had parked near a tree expecting that there was some shade, and he just made a very critical [mistake] of thinking that he could leave the dogs in for a short period of time, and then that time became extended because of his appointment."

"He admitted that he made a stupid mistake; nonetheless his dogs suffered for it," she said.

Their body temperatures had risen "excessively high" to 107.7 and 105 degrees — "just further proof that they were in distress and in need of emergency veterinary treatment," Mellott said. Normal temperature for dogs is about 102, she added.

The officer noted that the owner said the dogs had been in the vehicle for about 30 minutes by the time dispatch received the call at 2:58 p.m. Authorities arrived and took the animals out of vehicle at 3:06 p.m., she said.

"They could have potentially already been deceased by the time that we got there," Mellott said. "The reality is: When you're under a heat advisory, you really shouldn't be taking your pets out in the car in the first place."

Authorities took the dogs to Apple Valley Veterinary on Cedar Creek Grade "because they were in critical condition from heat exhaustion." The hospital treated the dogs for hyperthermia and released the animals to their owner who was at the veterinarian office, Mellott said.

The dogs were shaking, "panting uncontrollably," and had shortness of breath, said Sheri Eifert, the technician who treated the canines at the veterinarian office.

Their tongues and mucous membranes started to turn blue, caused by a lack of oxygen.

The risk for brain damage increases when a dog's body temperature reaches 106 degrees, and 108 or higher usually results in death, Eifert said.

"Usually it only takes a few minutes for that to happen, as hot as it was," Eifert said. "We've actually had a couple of heat strokes here as well as the other animal hospitals in the area."

A local emergency animal clinic on Monday night had a dog that died from heat exposure, Eifert said.

"It's kind of a common sense thing to us, but to some people not so much that it happens so quickly," Eifert said.

Mellott recommended that pet owners at least leave the air conditioner running to keep their vehicle cool.

"If it's 95 [degrees] outside, it's more than 125 [degrees] in your car and 10 minutes is all it takes for an animal to succumb to that," Mellott advised. "Statistically it's just not worth taking the chance and animals can't speak for themselves so we have to remind everybody to look out for them."

* Contact Alex Bridges at abridges@nvdaily.com