It’s hot out. And though they may seem like they can handle it, man’s best friend feels that heat just like you and I do.
Earlier this month, the Chico Enterprise-Record reported on a dog who died of heatstroke on a hike in Chico’s Upper Bidwell Park.
“Heavy panting, heavy drooling, slowing down — those are warning signs,” says Honey Souza, education coordinator for the Butte Humane Society. She added that cracking a window or parking in the shade is not enough to keep your canine passenger out of harm.
“Do not leave them in your car,” she said.
To illustrate that, in early June, Butte Humane’s youth outreach program, Humane Heroes, baked cookies in a car — a car with its windows down, in less than triple-digit heat.
It took a little while, but the hot car ended up baking them like an oven would.
And the old saying, “You could fry an egg on the sidewalk”? Souza said that dog owners need to be careful of walking or running dogs on the hot pavement, which stays hot hours after the sun goes down.
“The general rule is: if you wouldn’t go out there in your bare feet, then your dog probably doesn’t like either.”
Be mindful of the heat, be sensitive to your dog’s limitations, and: “if they’re showing signs of slowing down, let them.”