I actually can’t believe I am writing about this topic.
I thought “Isn’t It Common Sense” that if it’s hot out you would know enough to…
1) Leave your dog at home where they are comfortable.
2) Not leave your dog in a car.
3) Don’t run/jog with your dog in the heat. Some breeds can’t even tolerate walking in hot, humid conditions.
4) Never leave your dog outside without water and shelter from the heat and sun.
But it seems some owners/handlers don’t get it.
I still hear daily news reports warning people of the dangers of leaving your dog in a hot car.
These reports are usually followed by a story of a dog that was left in a car and the window being broken to retrieve the dog.
Hopefully these stories have a good ending and the dog is alright, but sadly that’s not always the case.
Yesterday I thought, wouldn’t it be nice to take my Edie down to the beach.
She’s never been before and it would make for a nice change of environment, see how she reacts to the water, maybe chase some birds, walk along the waters edge.
Now for me to get to any kind of beach I need to drive.
So I stocked the car with the necessities; water, water dish, of course the mandatory poop bags, some treats (for both of us). I even tossed in a towel just in case Edie actually decided to tempt going in the water! I put a pre-dampend cloth in a baggie to wipe off any sand she might get on her paws.
As prepared as I was, and as excited as Edie was to be going for an (air conditioned) car ride, I ended up turning around after 10 minutes of driving.
Why?
Within the first several minutes in the car, Edie started to pant.
Full pant, tongue hanging out.
I thought, this is no good, we haven’t even got to the beach yet and here she is, sitting in an air conditioned car finding it hot!
We were litterly around the block from a Petsmart store. I pulled in there, took Edie out of the car and into the Petsmart store where it was cool.
We walked around, Edie cooled down and of course she got all sorts of attention from the staff and she wasn’t “disappointed” about going in the car and not acutally “going anywhere”.
Maybe I’m crazy thinking a dog could acutally be disappointed, but to Edie going to Petsmart is the highlight of her day!
So here I was, so worried my dog was overheating in an air conditioned car that I cancelled our outing.
I was concerned for her health and safety. Wouldn’t any other dog owner in the same situation do the same thing?
When we arrived back home I tweeted that Edie’s trip to the beach had been cancelled and why.
Someone tweeted back “What a wonderful caring owner Edie had” .
I replied “Common sense really”?
They responsed “Some People Don’t Have It”! Common sense that is!
I always assumed if you have a pet it’s because you want it; you love it.
Part of this responsibility would be to care for it, love it, feed it, exercise it, make sure all it’s needs are met, keep it healthy.
So why wouldn’t that responsiblity include protecting your pet from the environment; heat, sun humidity, cold, rain, snow, ice, thunder, lightening, hail and whatever else Mother Nature throws our way?
Trust me, your dog is and will be much happier staying at home and excitingly greeting you when you return, than waiting in a hot car while you do your errands.
