Rio, chillin' in the shade
It has been very hot this summer, and even Rio has felt the heat almost as much as we have. Of course, it is easy to tell that a dog is hot by the way their big, long tongue hangs out of their mouth. If we could figure out a way to mark a temperature gauge on Rio’s tongue we could probably tell how hot it is by how far his tongue is hanging out.
We don’t take Rio on walks when it is this hot. He could probably handle it, but we can’t. So we let him out in the backyard to get his exercise. When he is out there, though, he mostly just finds a cool place in the grass under the tree or in the damp dirt along the house and relaxes in the shade. I wish it was that easy for me to cool off.
His favorite place to get cool inside is on the tile floor. He lays on it all sprawled out and looks very contented. It works for me somewhat just taking my shoes off and walking around on the cold tile. But my old body wouldn’t handle lying on the hard floor…or I might just join him down there.
There are some important things to remember about our pets during the summer heat. I found a good article on a government site called GovGab. The article gives tips about pet safety during the summer. I have put a link HERE so you can read this helpful information.
Well, we will try to survive these “dog days of summer”. It’s really nothing that a tall glass of iced tea for me and Jay, an ice cube for Rio to lick, and a sprinkler to run through ever so often can’t get us through.
Next, read about how Rio has to share.
i’ll never forget the day we couldn’t run our A/C. it got to be over 100 degrees in the house. i was burning up. i was fainting out. but poor Shiloh, he was smothering, with his fur. he was walking around the rooms, going into the corners and turning around and around trying to find a place that wasn’t so hot. i felt so bad for him.
when the A/C repair man got here we turned on the air and there was nothing wrong with it. it had been making this loud grinding sound. but it was fine now. i had thought during the day, maybe we could try it and see. but i didn’t want to chance it. i will never forget Shiloh’s suffering.
Thanks Karen….there were some good reminders on the link you provided. I would never leave my dogs in the car, but I do let the kids take them for walks on hot days. I guess just like some humans are used to walking on hot pavement and others are not, dogs are or can be the same. I will definately be aware of how my dogs act when walking on pavement during hot days. Thanks again.