Did you know that hot and muggy weather is harder on our dogs than on us?
They wear their winter fur coats all year round and sweat only through their paws and mouth.
Leave your Dog at Home, Not in the Car
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Give your dog a break in this weather – don’t ask too much from him. Leave him at home if you go grocery shopping. He wants to be with you but doesn’t want to be miserable: he also wants to be able to breathe.
Cracking a window does not prevent the inside of a car from quickly becoming too hot and a front window shade does not give enough shade. There is very little cross-ventilation in a car, making it hard to breathe. I’m sure you have noticed how hot your car gets in the summer when you get back to it after stopping at the store for ‘just a minute.’
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If it’s 85F outside (and today it is a lot hotter), the inside of a car can reach 102F in 10 minutes and 120F in just 20 minutes. Not cool!
As a matter of fact, watch this video as veterinarian Ernie Ward locked himself in a car for 30 minutes with all four windows cracked down an inch to see how difficult it can be to breathe (http://www.samaritanmag.com/1589/veterinarian-locks-self-hot-car-pet-experiment). Don’t do this to your best friend.
Walkin’ the Dog
Please walk your dog after the sun goes down or early in the morning. And walk him on the grass. Asphalt and concrete heat up and retain the heat. Even your back deck may be uncomfortable. Try going barefoot yourself to see just how hot it is for bare paws. As the Maryland SPCA says, “If it’s too hot for you, it’s too hot for them.”
Be Cool. Sign the Pledge. Spread the Word.
Facebook is populated with really striking posters warning us of the inside heat wave. How many have you seen?
Sign the pledge to keep your dog cool this summer on Facebook, Twitter or by printing and signing it: www.MyDogIsCool.com/pledge. Just do it!
Print out flyers and give them to shopkeepers. Put one in your car window when you go shopping.
Spread the word to save dogs. You’ll be glad you did.
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