This summer has had a tremendous number of hot days that make for a great summer for us humans.  Unfortunately with this nice
weather we see stories of dogs being left inside cars and suffering heat stroke and even death.

Unfortunately, this tragedy is not limited to just animals.  It was reported by  KSEE Channel 24 (Fresno, California's NBC affiliate) that eight children in the past week have died because they have been left in hot cars and suffered the effects of heatstroke.

"This year, 23 children have died of hyperthermia in cars in 13 states, the advocacy group Safe Kids Worldwide says. There were 33 such deaths in all of 2011 and 49 in 2010, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports," according to an article in USA Today.

Several national and local groups have made every effort to communicate to the public that leaving a dog or child in a car is deadly and cruel. Generally, in animals, a vast majority of the time the owner is not aware of the dangers and risks. So technology has stepped in and a collar has been developed for dogs.

According to Examiner.com:

"A high-tech dog collar is currently in the works. The goal of "The Dog Caller" is to alert dog owners when the temperature inside of a vehicle has climbed to a dangerous level. According to Tuesday's publication of PC World, the collar is fitted with a SIM card, thermistor, some LEDs, as well as a coded chip. When temperatures climb to a certain point, a text is sent to the dog's owner alerting them to potential trouble.  The collar is being developed by the ad agency, Rethink, whose ultimate goal is to eliminate heat-related deaths resulting from dogs being left in places which are too hot for them to endure."

Now, certainly the intention of this collar is to avoid the mistake of harming one’s pet, but one cannot help but wonder if there isn’t something wrong with the thought of a person buying this collar and using it as a safeguard for their pet instead of using common sense and not leaving the animal in a potentially hazardous environment, or determining that the heat of a day may be too much and that it is best for the animal to be left at home.

The collar is designed in a way that “When temperatures climb to a certain point, a text is sent to the dog's owner alerting them to potential trouble,” Examiner.com reports.

Can you imagine getting a text that essentially says “your killing your dog!”?

If a person does not know enough that this type of environment is a danger, what makes anyone think they will believe they need this product?

The product has a great premise and is attempting to reduce a repeated horrible tragedy, however, one has to question the owner’s ability to properly care for an animal if they need a collar to tell them they are doing something harmful.

If this product saves one life, than it is definitely worth it. A life saved is a life saved, but is this what we really have come to?

One has to wonder if the future product will have a bladder monitor to text the owner when the dog has to relieve itself to avoid the owner from taking the dog on unnecessary walks…