By Jon Sutz, Founder, HEATKILLS.us™ Shayna, the “miracle dog” in whose honor and loving memory I created the HEATKILLS project. Learn about her here. Summary The HEATKILLS.us™ project is dedicated to pursuing three missions: To help prevent dogs from suffering in hot cars To help prevent dog parents from suffering the agony of discovering, only… Continue reading About the HEATKILLS project
Author: Jon Sutz
I am a dog-loving visualization and graphic designer, writer and creative consultant, in Charlottesville, VA. My bio is here. The most important, joyous job I've ever had, was as "dad" to Shayna, the "miracle dog" who helped to save my life after 9/11, and about whom I wrote my first book, "Saved By Shayna: Life Lessons From A Miracle Dog." Read the Introduction here. Learn about what made Shayna such an incredibly talented, inspiring and hilarious dog at her website. I created HeatKills.us (and its predecessor site, HeatKills.org) to help raise awareness of the dangers of leaving a dog in a hot car.
Official Sponsor program
By Jon Sutz, Founder, HEATKILLS.us™ May 9, 2025 Contents (1) Introduction (2) The HEATKILLS.us™ Official Sponsor program (3) How does HEATKILLS.us™ define “select auto dealers”? (4) Do you think your dealership/dealer network has what it takes to be selected as a HEATKILLS.us™ Official Sponsor? (1) Introduction As described on the About page, the HEATKILLS™ project… Continue reading Official Sponsor program
HEATKILLS DataGraphics
US prospective sponsor location analysis Source: Stacker analysis of Census Bureau’s 2021 American Housing Survey. Cited in “The major US cities with the most animal lovers,” Long Island Herald, August 17, 2023. Source: Research by Zillow and Rover, cited in: “Zillow and Rover name top 20 fastest-growing dog-friendly cities in America,” April 26, 2022. Note:… Continue reading HEATKILLS DataGraphics
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Heatstroke tragedies in Walmart parking lots
A non-public research page, with source data culled from here and open sources. Contents (1) Tragedies (2) July 2013: A Canadian Walmart employee alleges she was fired for asking man to not leave his dog in a car on a hot day, as he shopped at Walmart (1) Tragedies The most recent items are at… Continue reading Heatstroke tragedies in Walmart parking lots
About Jon, the founder of HeatKills.us
By Jon Sutz, Founder, HEATKILLS.us™ My name is Jon, and I love dogs. One dog, however, transformed my life, and helped to save my spirit after the 9/11 attacks: Shayna. I spent the happiest twelve years of my life with her. The effect she had on me was so profound that I wrote a book… Continue reading About Jon, the founder of HeatKills.us
Tragic stories of dogs suffering, and dying, in hot cars
By Jon Sutz, Founder, HEATKILLS.us™ Caution: Some will find these stories, and the headline screencaps I provide, to be triggering. They’re all heartbreaking, especially when the dog’s face is included. (This page is actually just a small sampling of items I bookmarked over the years.) While the circumstances and locations of each of the tragedies… Continue reading Tragic stories of dogs suffering, and dying, in hot cars
About
The mission of HEATKILLS.us™ is to create state-of-the-art knowledge tools and activism strategies that will raise broad-scale public awareness of the heatstroke danger of leaving dogs in cars, An earlier version of the site quickly became a highly-respected, widely-cited resource for dog lovers throughout the world. The HEATKILLS project was created in loving memory of Shayna, an incredible rescue dog who helped to save a person’s spirit, after the 9/11 attacks.
How You Can Help
The most important things you can do to prevent dogs from suffering in hot cars are (1) to become informed on the science of heatstroke and dogs, then (2) use HEATKILLS.us™’s free resources to share this knowledge with others. The site was designed from the start to enable even those with limited mobility to play a vital role in this process.
The Facts
Dogs can’t sweat, and they’re covered in fur. This is why they’ve died from heatstroke when left in cars, even when the outside temperature was only 70 degrees, and the windows were partially open. This page contains the science behind these and other vital facts about heatstroke and dogs.