Cars + summer heat = danger

Tragically, last week a four month old child was accidentally forgotten in the back seat of a car all day and died from heat exhaustion. Last month a police officer left his police dog in a car for a few hours and sadly, the dog died. We simply can't say this often enough, but cars and heat are a terrible mix for any living thing left inside, even with windows left slightly open.

Apparently child deaths have increased since front air bags were introduced and children had to be put in the back seats of cars. Here are some suggestions for reminding yourself that your child is in the back:

1. Put the child's toy in the front seat next to you as a reminder they are in the car.

2. Put your purse, briefcase or jacket in the back seat of the car so that you have to go back there before you lock the car up.

3. Tie a ribbon to your steering wheel.

4. Take a photo of your child and sticky back it and put it on the dashboard whenever the child is in the car.

Don't take your dog in the car with you on errands in the summer.