I CANNOT SAY THIS LOUDLY ENOUGH......

DON'T LEAVE A DOG IN YOUR CAR ON A HOT DAY!

Today, I was saddened, angered, outraged to hear that the six dogs that were purportedly stolen from a Langley dogwalker's truck last week were not stolen at all,  but died of heat exhaustion when the dogwalker left them locked in her truck on a hot day.  

There is NO excuse for this.  This was NOT "merely an accident".  This was a person who makes her living taking care of dogs, and could not possibly have been ignorant of the fact that vehicles heat up quickly and dogs die quickly when the outside temperature is warm or hot.  

There is a message here for every dog owner, every dog sitter, every person who has ever looked after a dog for even a short while.  Don't leave the dog in a car on a hot - or even moderately warm - day.  Not while you run into the store for a few things, not while you go to the public washroom, not while you drop in on a friend 'for just a moment'.  Once spring arrives, and until winter returns, leave the dog at home!  You know what?  They'd rather be alive than go for a fatal car ride. 

Perhaps part of my outraged reaction is due to my own experience in 2010 when a professional dog caregiver, one who worked with dogs every day, killed my own dog Oliver through her absolutely unacceptable behaviour.  The circumstances were different, but the result the same - my dog died of salt water poisoning after the person entrusted with his care let my sight impaired, deaf, sixteen year old dog with canine cognitive disorder off leash on the beach and then turned her back.  I never thought to tell her what I thought was obvious - especially when the beach was not an off leash beach.  

And so there is a second message here:  know your petwalker or petsitter. Grill them, quiz them, check references, and grill them some more on their canine knowledge, their practices, their philosophy regarding dog care and safety.  And put in writing the things that are not acceptable to you - whether it is letting your dog off leash, taking them in the car without being crated or seatbelted, leaving them unattended in the back yard or in the car, opening the door without leashing the dog first, or whatever.   I learned the hard way not to take common sense for granted, not to assume someone who works with dogs would keep my dog safe. My dog paid with his life for that ignorance, as did the six Langley dogs.  

The dogwalker who killed those six dogs will never forget the lesson she learned when she chose to leave the dogs in the vehicle while she did who-knows-what.  I hope the petsitter who killed my Oliver will also never forget how she screwed up.  I know it changed my life:  my dogs' safety is now more important to me than any other aspect of their care.  They can miss a meal or two, miss a walk, miss my company - but when it comes to safety, there are no compromises because sometimes there are no second chances to get it right. 

My heart goes out to the families who lost their best friends.  I know only too well the deep, deep pain and sense of betrayal.  

I hope all my blog readers will keep their dogs safe this summer.  Leave them at home if you can't be with them every minute. Even when you can be with them, be aware of road temperature, beach temperature, dehydration, heat exhaustion,  water hazards.  Plan ahead to keep dogs safe in new surroundings while on vacation - dogs bolt and get lost when away from home.  Plan your strategy for safety in wilderness areas where bears might be encountered - angry bears can be right on Fido's tail as he runs right back to you. Carry a canine first aid kit.  Carry extra leashes, carry lots of water.  Get a canine life jacket if you boat.  Don't let your dog swallow too much seawater while playing his favourite game of swim-and-fetch.  Think safety, safety, safety. Please. 

(Used with permission of artist)

Beaches and Cars are no Place for a Hot Dog

So, hands up, those of you who have taken your dog for a walk on pavement, gravel, or sand on a hot summer's day.  

Yes, sand - the beach - a great place for a sunny afternoon, right?  Wrong!  While we trot around in our flipflops or sneakers, our dog's bare paws are being burned by the sun-and-heat-absorbing material on which they are forced to walk.  An internet friend of mine, Nana Nishigaki, made this poster last year and has given me permission to post it here and to invite you to share it with others:

Walk the dog in the early morning and/or after sunset, or choose shady trails or grassy fields for play (being mindful that the dog doesn't first have to cross a burning-hot parking lot to reach it).  Your dog will thank you.

And then there is this scenario:  I'm doing a homecheck for a rescues, or just listening in on someone interested in adopting a dog from the shelter where I volunteer, when I hear the potential adopters say "Oh, he'll never be alone - I want a dog I can take EVERYWHERE with me."  

While making a dog an integral part of the family is a great thing, the expectation to take the dog everywhere raises red flags and, in the homecheck situation, leads to a reality-checking teachable moment. 

There are very few stores that allow dogs, and I've yet to see a doctor's office, grocery, restaurant, or hospital that allows Joe Blow to bring his dog in with him (unless Joe Blow has a service dog due to a disability).  

I see what many  people who take their dogs 'everywhere' do while in these establishments - they leave their dog in the car.  Sadly, on a warm spring, summer or fall day, this is a dangerous practice.  Even with the windows cracked and the car parked in the shade, the temperature inside the vehicle can quickly reach a point that leaves the dog in distress or - to put it bluntly - dead.  

Dogs cool themselves by panting and by releasing heat through their paws - the warm temperature inside the car, combined with car seat upholstery, prevents effective cooling.  The temperature inside a car increases approximately twenty degrees (F) for every ten minutes.  That's 'ten minutes to disaster', as a recent SPCA poster says. 

Tying them up outside the store or beside the car  is no solution as it invites escape or theft.   Leave Fido at home when going anywhere he or she isn't welcome - even if you just plan to 'pop into the store for a couple of things' - you never know when that 'two minutes' will become ten or twenty.    

But you, my dog loving friends, probably know this.  

My rule of thumb is if the temperature is in the high teens - or likely to reach that - I leave the dogs at home. 

It just makes sense.  Summer may be hotdog time, but it is no time for hot dogs.