Be Kind To Your Dog

Yesterday morning, Marilyn and I walked our dogs in a nearby park. At 8am, it was already hot. We stayed in the shade as much as possible. When one of the dogs decided to lie down on the grass for a break, we understood that the dog knew best.

About 45 minutes into our walk, we saw a jogger in the distance, on the other side of the park. The man was running with a short-legged Jack Russell on leash, who was valiantly trying to keep up with him. If a Jack Russell is running more slowly than a human, that's a good sign that the little terrier is seriously tiring.

Hot summer days are not good jogging days for dogs. Heat prostration is life threatening for them.

A little over three years ago, my wonderful Zephyr was attacked on the evening of a record breaking heat wave. In spite of the fact that she was oozing and dripping blood from multiple wounds, she was triaged to be seen last at the emergency vet's. Why? Several dog owners in my community had returned from work that hot day and had taken their dogs for a run. The result was more life threatening than a dog attack that eventually required about 100 stitches and four drains for Zephyr.

I hope the jogger we saw yesterday stopped in time for his Jack Russell.