LA CROSSE, Wis. -- Spending time outside is a daily routine for Stacie Stefan and her beloved pooch Thor. But they're not usually playing in the water at Airport Beach.

"No we're normally running up in Hixon Forest. But on a day like today, it's way too hot," said Stefan.

Not everyone, however, is taking steps to make sure their pets are safe in this heat. This weekend, animal control officers responded to eight calls of pets left in vehicles.

"It's really, really important to keep your pets at home. Don't even create the situation. We'd rather not visit you in that kind of circumstance," said Heather Schmid, director of the Coulee Region Humane Society.

News 8 wanted to know just how quickly a car can heat up in these conditions, so we ran an experiment in one of our news vehicles.

After running the air conditioning for several minutes, it was a comfortable 78 degrees inside.

We then turned the car off and checked back several times. The temperature inside skyrocketed to 99 degrees (15 minutes), 110 degrees (30 minutes) and, finally, 117 degrees (60 minutes).

That was a 39 degree increase in just one hour.

Those kind of conditions can quickly lead to heat exhaustion or even death.

Officials say there are also dangers for pets left outside at home.

"It's really important to remember, if you leave in the morning and they're in shadd, that can change throughout the day. So be planning for the sun to change," said Schmid.