The next few months of high summer temperatures can be dangerous for your four legged friends. The American Red Cross offers these tips you can follow to keep your pets safe when the temperatures rise:
If you suspect pet heat stroke:
- Get your pet out of direct heat.
- Check for shock. Signs include: collapse, body temperature 104° F+, bloody diarrhea or vomit, depression stupor, seizures or coma, excessive panting or difficulty breathing, increased heart rate, salivation.
- Take your pet’s temperature.
- Spray your pet with cool water then retake temperature.
- Place water-soaked towels on your pet’s head, neck feet, chest and abdomen and turn on a fan and point it in your pet’s direction.
- Take your pet to the nearest veterinary hospital.
Even if you successfully cool your pet down to 103° F in the first 10-15 minutes, you must take the dog to a veterinarian as soon as possible because consequences of heat stroke will not show up for hours or even days. Potential problems include abnormal heart rhythms, kidney failure, neurological problems and respiratory arrest.
It is important to know if your pet is predisposed to dog heat stroke, which is true of dogs with short snouts such as bulldogs, pugs and many other breeds. Other common causes of heat stroke include: a previous episode of heat stroke, leaving a dog in a parked car, excessive exercise in hot, humid weather (this may be exercise that your dog can usually handle but not in warmer weather), lack of appropriate shelter outdoors, thicker-coated dogs in warm weather and underlying disease such as upper airway, heart of lung disease.
Download the Pet First Aid App
Pet owners can also download the Red Cross Pet First Aid app for more information on how to include pets in emergency preparedness plans. The app also features step-by-step instructions for first aid emergencies, a pet profile for storing tag ID, photo and medical information, early warning signs for when to contact a veterinarian and an animal hospital locator. Text GETPET to 90999 for a link to download the app or go to redcross.org/apps.