Published on Monday, August 13th, 2012 by Peter Giffen

Apparently this is a day for doggy items, with this campaign from Rethink for the Toronto Humane Society, addressing the situation where “countless dogs” have died in hot, parked cars over the last few years. Countless dogs have died in hot, parked cars over the course of the last several years. Well, no more – this is the message of the campaign.

The reality is many businesses don’t allow dogs, so a website  was developed by Rethink theam teams up with dog lovers to provide a complete list dog friendly businesses and to educate people on what to do when they see a dog in danger. Rethink also created A TV spot has to raise awareness of the issue and to drive people to the website.

At the same time, Doggy Havens (areas where Toronto Humane Society volunteers watch your dog while you shop) are being negotiated with several malls and big retailers. The first one launched last week in Scarborough.

Barbara Steinhof, communications manger at the THS says in a press release: “No more. It’s time that these heat exhaustion tragedies stop. It’s never OK to leave your dog alone in a car. Situations do occur that are more difficult to foresee like when air conditioners in houses or condos break, there are power failures, and other factors occur that can put dog’s lives in danger.”

With this in mind Rethink invented a thermal dog collar called the ‘the dog CALLER’ that actually contacts the dog owner’s smartphone if their pooch is in trouble. “When the collar hits 26.5 degrees, the device will alert your phone.” The prototype collar is fully functional and the Toronto Humane Society and Rethink are working with designers and manufacturers as well as looking to crowd-fund the final product with the end goal of having it widely available to the public in the New Year.

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