Monday, April 27, 2009

Dog Days of Summer

Wasn't it just 40 degrees a week ago? Where did this heat wave come from? My clothes are sticking to me and I'm having trouble concentrating. The upside of the muggy weather? B tires out much quicker! Hooray! I know that her stunning athleticism will mean that she will acclimate quickly...boo. For now, however, I'm thankful that she has her tongue hanging out after an evening run. The extreme downside of summer? I know that I will come across many a dog owner that doesn't understand just how fatal this heat can be.

Last year, I got in to a verbal altercation with an individual who had his dog sitting outside in the sweltering heat while he was inside grocery shopping. All the windows were up. His defense: he was only going to be a minute (the conversation between us took 5 minutes...that's already too long) and he just had the AC running on extra cold before they arrived at the store about 15 minutes ago. Most accidents happen when we don't expect them. If we expected them, they wouldn't necessarily qualify as an accident, would they? I'm not now, nor was I then, suggesting that this gentleman meant ill-will towards his precious Bichon Frise. What outrages me is his lack of concern, which then turned in to extreme defensiveness, when I brought his dog's potential fate to his attention.

People, let's be careful this summer. We brought our animals in to our lives, the very least we can do is protect them from these kinds of circumstances.

The Humane Society provides some great tips for the summer.

(oh! for a little background on the saying Dog Days of Summer, wikipedia answers all.)

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