Airsafety
Member
I learned a lesson today - it is hot and for our dogs it is even hotter.
My 9 year old Springer Spaniel and I have a regular routine. We close the office about 4 p.m. and head for the yard to play catch. Catch with a tennis ball is the highlight of Molly's day and I enjoy it, too. In the summer, she usually catches it about a dozen times - which is about half the number of tosses she wanted a few years ago. She tells me when she's tired - and we head for the pool for some more catch.
Today, we played catch in the pool for about ten minutes before she said she'd had enough. She headed for a shady spot in the grass where she could keep an eye on us like she always does. The next time I looked over at her she was heaving, then she lost control of her bowels. She then took about five steps and went down in a heap. I was by her side as quickly as I could get out of the pool. She was still breathing, but so shallow that I had to look twice to be sure. Her head was down on her paws and her eyes were closed.
At this point, she had been out of the air conditioned office for less than 30 minutes and she had spent half of that time in the 80 degree pool.
The vet is two minutes away and they were waiting for her. Her temperature was 102.9 (normal is 100.5) and the vet was pretty sure it was heat exhaustion, but was concerned because her heart sounds were very faint. As soon as he got a chest X-ray to be sure there was no pulmonary edema he started IV fluids and it was like watching her wake up. Within 40 minutes after we arrived, her temperature was almost down to normal.
Molly is not overweight, takes me for a two mile walk every morning and plays ball and swims every afternoon. If you know springers, you know how active they can be. She has fresh water available to her at all times and is clipped very short. It was 100 degrees here today - about as warm as we've had all year, but no where near as hot as it gets in the summer time. I've always had a dog and there's not much I wouldn't do to keep them well. Until today I couldn't imagine a dog suffering from heat exhaustion while she played in the pool. Molly is fine, now, asleep on my foot so I can't move without waking her, but she scared me today. Keep a close eye on your best friends now that summer is here.
My 9 year old Springer Spaniel and I have a regular routine. We close the office about 4 p.m. and head for the yard to play catch. Catch with a tennis ball is the highlight of Molly's day and I enjoy it, too. In the summer, she usually catches it about a dozen times - which is about half the number of tosses she wanted a few years ago. She tells me when she's tired - and we head for the pool for some more catch.
Today, we played catch in the pool for about ten minutes before she said she'd had enough. She headed for a shady spot in the grass where she could keep an eye on us like she always does. The next time I looked over at her she was heaving, then she lost control of her bowels. She then took about five steps and went down in a heap. I was by her side as quickly as I could get out of the pool. She was still breathing, but so shallow that I had to look twice to be sure. Her head was down on her paws and her eyes were closed.
At this point, she had been out of the air conditioned office for less than 30 minutes and she had spent half of that time in the 80 degree pool.
The vet is two minutes away and they were waiting for her. Her temperature was 102.9 (normal is 100.5) and the vet was pretty sure it was heat exhaustion, but was concerned because her heart sounds were very faint. As soon as he got a chest X-ray to be sure there was no pulmonary edema he started IV fluids and it was like watching her wake up. Within 40 minutes after we arrived, her temperature was almost down to normal.
Molly is not overweight, takes me for a two mile walk every morning and plays ball and swims every afternoon. If you know springers, you know how active they can be. She has fresh water available to her at all times and is clipped very short. It was 100 degrees here today - about as warm as we've had all year, but no where near as hot as it gets in the summer time. I've always had a dog and there's not much I wouldn't do to keep them well. Until today I couldn't imagine a dog suffering from heat exhaustion while she played in the pool. Molly is fine, now, asleep on my foot so I can't move without waking her, but she scared me today. Keep a close eye on your best friends now that summer is here.
