If the Temps are Hot, Make sure your pet is NOT!

Use Common Sense :   If the temps are hot, make sure your pet is safe and cool!

•     Keep pets at home on warm/hot days.    Even on warm days, the inside of your car can heat up to dangerous levels causing heatstroke, irreversible organ faiure or even death.    It only takes minutes for your car to be a death trap for your beloved family member.       If it’s 85 degrees (outside), the interior of your car can reach 100 degrees within 10 minutes!
•      If you see an animal in distress in a parked car, call your local shelter or police and ask for assistance.    Some states allow the public to break car windows to save pets in hot cars.     Do everything you can to save that animal.   You may be the dog’s only chance of surviving.   Just be aware of consequences.    Currently, 29 states have laws to protect dogs in hot cars.   See wheret your state stands on this.

Limit exercise for your dog on hot days

•  Older, sickly, very young dogs, overweight, dogs who aren’t conditioned to exercising or are prone to respiratory disease should sit out a day of exercising on hot days.     Limit the amount of exercising in general.
• Walk or exercise your dog in the early morning or late evening hours and shorten the duration of those times.
• Be sure to be extra careful with short-nosed breeds of dogs during warm/hot days such as boxers, pugs, shih tzus, and other dogs and cats with short muzzles.   The size of their snout makes it more difficult to breathe in extreme heat.    Walking or exercising can create a very serious situation.    Keep them safe in your cool house.        
• Be careful with pets who have white colored ears.   Did you know they are more susceptible to skin cancer?    You’ll want to keep them out of the sun. 
• Asphalt is extremely hot and can burn your pets’ paws.    Walk your dog on grass, if at all possible.   If there is no grass, carry your pet if you can!    (Try walking on asphalt with your bare feet and you’ll know what your dog feels.)  
• Humidity can be as dangerous as hot temperatures.      If dogs are unable to cool themselves during dangerous humidity weather,  their body temperature will rise causing serious consequences and/or death.    . 

Always provide cool, clean water and ample shade if and when your pet is outside

•   Don’t leave your pet outside on a permanent basis but whenever your pet is outside, make sure there is always a bowl of clean water   available to him/her at all times.
•   Make sure there is an area where your pet is protected from the sun.     Trees are perfect for this.
•   A dog house is actually bad for your pet in the heat.    It will keep trap the heat making it much worse for your dog.

Signs of heatstroke in pets

• A dog’s temperature should never reach 104 degrees!  This is an emergency requiring veterinarian intervention!!!
•  Heavy panting, profuse panting, vomiting, tongue is a deep red or purple color,  eyes become  glazed over, lethargy, fever, dizziness, lack of coordination, rapid heartbeat, seizures , unconsciousness.

Treating heatstroke for a pet

• Move the animal to a cool area, either a shaded area or get him/her into an air-conditioned house asap!   Apply cold towels to the pet’s head, neck and chest.    If that’s not available, you can run cool (not cold) water over him/her.     Allow the animal to drink small amounts of water or lick ice cubes.
• Get the pet to a veterinarian immediately!!  Heatstroke is an emergency!

Did you know a dog sweats through their feet?   Dogs can’t cool off like humans so we have to be vigilant in their care during hot weather.

Keep Cool Mat

This mat is ideal to keep your pets cool indoors or outdoors.   Cooling vest or body wraps are also available.    Place the “Keep Cool Mat” anywhere it’s cool and get your pet to sit or lie on it.    There’s no need to freeze it in advance.     The temperature will begin to drop and regulate your pet’s body temperature.  

Conclusion

In the end, it’s about using common sense for our furry friends when the outdoor temps are hot.   We need to keep them cool.   Don’t let them overdo anything.    Pets are unable to cool themselves off like humans.   Once their body temperatures rise to a dangerous level,  their chances of heatstroke also rises putting them at serious risk of internal organ damage or death.    Keep your pets home in an air-conditioned room with plenty of fresh, cool water available to them at all times.     If you see an animal in distress, contact the authorities for help asap!

Tina Evangelista-Eppenstein is a television talk show host, speaker, writer, and an unabashed animal advocate.   Her love for animals and quest for the hard truth is what drives her passion for all things animals.    She hosts the television show, “A Close Up Look at Animal Welfare Issues.”   She adores her tripawd, Brody, who was a formerly abused pup who lost his leg because of cruelty inflicted upon him.    If you’d like Tina to talk to your group or have a story, please email her at tevangelistaepp@yahoo.com.     Like https:www.facebook.com/ACloseUpLookatAnimalWelfareIssues and be sure to check out AnimalWelfareIssues.com.