tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-647675683976633621.post2449617450691203171..comments2023-09-28T08:31:02.877-07:00Comments on Responsible Pet Ownership Blog: Heat Stroke and Your Dog: What are the SignsCANIDAE Pet Foodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469755460646975188noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-647675683976633621.post-78451057515993573812011-08-07T10:46:20.955-07:002011-08-07T10:46:20.955-07:00I definitely agree with this. Recently, I helped a...I definitely agree with this. Recently, I helped a friend bathe and groom her two big dogs who live in the backyard of her house. She lives with her stubborn grandparents who assume that dogs are unaffected by the weather and are "used" to it, as they express. What they fail to realize is that when you walk outside and your skin is sweaty and you feel like you're about to pass out from the heat -- think about your dog! They are probably having it twenty times worse wearing all of that fur on their bodies that they couldn't take off even if they wanted to. <br /><br />Luckily, there is a large patio that the dogs can lie on to avoid the summer sun. But it is filled with junk piled high and there is dirt, hair, dead leaves, and just plain filthy and cluttered. There's barely anywhere for them to rest. And they are fed from squashed tin bowls filled with dust and the water supply is always hot and stagnant. How can someone be so oblivious to these things? And to call themselves a responsible pet owner. <br /><br />But what really gets me is that these dogs have full-length coats and are allowed to run around unshaved and unkempt. I couldn't stand seeing it anymore and I told my friend that we were going to do something about this right then. So we attempted to shave them, but the shaver didn't work and were forced to use scissors on the entire dog's body. The poor thing -- it wasn't the best haircut job ever, but at least it was MUCH cooler. And then we bathed both of them thoroughly and allowed them to dry in a clean area. After that, I spent hours brushing all of the loose and dead hairs off the dogs and clipping their nails. Mind you, I'm not even their owners! That alone is an astounding factor. <br /><br />But yes, after they were clean and happy and considerably cooler, the dogs expressed huge amounts of love and gratitude toward me. I couldn't have been more proud and ecstatic about the who let thing. Hopefully this taught my friend some important lessons about taking care of your animals and not letting things get that bad. The next task will be to clean off her patio. Anyway, I just wanted to share my experiences here so that someone may learn by example so that things like this are prevented from happening. The goal here is to raise awareness, I imagine.<br /><br />Thank you for posting this article! I hope everyone out there reading this spreads the word to their neighbor so that no animals have to suffer in the horrible heat. (I live in TX - by the way.)Rachel from TXnoreply@blogger.com