From: Tim Heider, Clackamas County Public Affairs Coordinator, 503-742-5911

07-07-2010

Media and Interested Parties

Clackamas County Dog Services offers tips on keeping your pets cool during hot weather

The National Weather Service is predicting near record temperatures over the next several days. Clackamas County Dog Services reminds pet owners to be especially careful to keep their pets cool and safe during hot weather. Dogs and cats can't perspire as humans do and eliminate heat by panting and through the pads of their feet. That means they heat up very quickly and have limited resources to cool themselves.

Clackamas County Dog Services Manager Diana Hallmark notes that the temperature in a parked car, even in the shade or with windows partly open, can increase rapidly. Within as few as 10 minutes, a dog or cat can be seriously harmed or killed. Leaving a pet in a parked car may also subject the owner to criminal neglect or abuse charges.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, even with outside temperatures as low as 72 degrees a car's interior temperature can increase an average of 40 degrees within an hour. While some people leave windows slightly open, that doesn’t provide enough relief to protect your pet. Visit their website at http://www.hsus.org/

Hallmark suggests people keep pets from overheating by:

Leaving them at home during warm or hot weather;

Being sure they have constant access to shade or a cool room, and to cool, potable drinking water, and

Being mindful of overexertion which can cause overheating. Take walks early in the morning or late in the evening and at a relaxed pace.

Watching out for heatstroke –heavy panting, staring, high fever, rapid heartbeat, vomiting, collapse and disobedience. If heatstroke is suspected, call a veterinarian immediately and apply water-soaked towels to hairless areas of the animal’s body to lower its temperature.

Never leaving pets in an unattended parked car or truck, with or without open windows.

For more information about pet safety or related issues visit http://www.clackamas.us/dogs/ or call Clackamas County Dog Services at 503-655-8628.