STAY COOL! POSTCARD

This postcard is also a public service message. Many people seem to be clueless that their dog's normal body temperature is about 101-102 F and that they can't sweat. I live near a major park and in the summer, unfortunately, see people overheating their dogs. The dogs try to please and sometimes by the time they show signs like laying down and refusing to drink, it's too late, or irreparable organ damage has been done. Big dogs, dogs with short snouts, etc. can be very susceptible to heat stroke. They can die. It is not worth the risk. Myrtie doesn't do distance, but before Myrtie I had a female black Lab who could run 6 or 8 miles in cool weather. She raced in the Purina run and over the years ran from 11:30 to 14 minutes for 2 miles, but when the temperature went over about 75 F, we had to take it easy, over 80 F, we had to walk, over 90 we had to try to stay in the shade and carry water.