Pet Safety in EXTREME Heat

According to composer George Gershwin, summertime means “the livin’ is easy; fish are jumpin’, and the cotton is high”. This special season can also mean we need to protect our companion animals from extreme heat. 

Keep in mind that when it is hot for you, it is even hotter for them. Dogs and cats do not sweat through their skin. They cool themselves by panting or rapid breathing, which means animals must work hard to stay cool.

Too much heat can be extremely dangerous or even fatal. If your best friend has a shorter nose, like Persian cats and bulldogs, he is more susceptible to heatstroke than breeds with longer noses.

If your dog or cat begins very rapid, noisy breathing, has trouble swallowing, and looks very distressed, she could be having a heatstroke. Heatstroke is an emergency. Get the animal out of the heat. Apply cold, wet towels to the back of the head. Place cold packs wrapped in towels or plain wet towels between the back legs and on the belly. Cool off your furry friend and then take her to the vet immediately.

The best plan is to keep your dog and cat protected from the summer heat.

• Always make sure that your dog or cat has plenty of fresh water to drink. A bucket that holds a gallon or more of water will stay cool longer than water in a shallow pan. Some dogs consider ice cubes a treat, and you can add a few to the water bowl.
• Dogs and cats do sweat a little through the pads of their feet. The cats I know do not appreciate water added to any part of their body, but dogs often enjoy having cool water on their feet. Some dogs enjoy walking through or even lying in a child’s wading pool.
• It is dangerous to leave your dog or cat in a car for 5 minutes. If he cannot go inside at every stop with you, he is safer at home on hot days! Car interiors heat very quickly in the hot sun, even with the windows open. If it is 85 degrees outside, it will climb to 102 degrees inside your car within ten minutes. In half an hour, it will reach 120 degrees or more! If it is 90 degrees out, temperatures can top 160 degrees faster than you can walk around the block.
• While walking your dog outdoors, play particular attention the hot pavement or sidewalks that make your dogs walking area hotter and can even burn their feet. Early morning and later evening walks will be more comfortable for you both!
• Animals who go outside need access to shade. Dark coats absorb heat. Lighter coated animals, especially white ones, are at higher risk for skin cancer from exposure to the sun and they are more susceptible to sunburn.
• Longer coated dogs and cats who are brushed regularly have natural insulation from the heat. However, if the coat has gotten matted, a summer clip will make your buddy much more comfortable and allow you a new start at keeping him brushed. Remember, newly clipped animals can be sunburned.
• If your dog spends time in the yard, make sure she has access to shade. Shade trees, a covered patio, or a cool spot under the porch can help keep her comfortable.

Companion animals want to be with you. They will be safer and cooler inside with you, where they can spend their time doing what they do best: being your best friend!
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The Adventures of an Illegal Alien part2

There are a lot of strange people in NY. We met quite a few of those.

Sarah and I were strolling through Times Square when we caught the attention of a man in a space suit and his camera. He wanted to know if we'd be interested in being on his show. What show? It's about New York and people who come here to make it, models, musicians and actors. Of course we are!
How cool? We are new here; let's get our face on TV. So we went with him and his friend to his studio somewhere uptown. Yes, we just jumped in the car with them. Again, I felt like I was in a movie. His studio was all set up, the lights went on, and we started dancing and singing, doing our thing; joking; introducing ourselves to the camera telling him about us. We had a blast.
It was sweet and short. I have no clue what the show was called. It was some local TV show. For someone new to all this, it seemed like a big deal.
He referred us to a guy who was looking for models and set us up with a photo shoot.
We went to the photo shoot; things were cool in the beginning. It was more of an apartment set-up than a photo studio. He had a pet, a monkey; I've never seen a real monkey other than in a zoo. It was a bit strange. The guys seemed a little weird but cool.
We didn't feel a 100% comfortable but we both decided that if things don't turn out to our liking we will leave. After all, we have a choice.
We took a few shots posing for the camera. It was harmless. He really liked it, we took a break and he offered us a drink which we declined. He didn't like the fact that we didn't want to drink but accepted it. Yes, we are pretty adventurous, pretty trusting, maybe even naive but we are not completely stupid. He had a drink, then asked us to shed some clothes, be more provocative; do something a bit more exciting.
While I could understand his excitement, two hot German girls getting it on while he's got his lens on us (keep dreaming buddy); I didn't like the idea. I don't mind posing sexy, in a bikini, even topless or nude if it's tastefully done on a pro level, in a pro studio. I love my body. I have no problems showing it off. But something about that whole place started to smell fishy; I didn't like the vibe or the direction this was taking. (I should've trusted my intuition from the start)
After telling him we are not into it he stopped taking pictures and started drinking, playing with his monkey, no, not what you think. His pet monkey. It became very creepy and red flags went off in my head. What the hell are we doing here? Why are we here? We told him, we had to go, grabbed our stuff and left.
Wow, that was uncomfortable.
Fortunately, nothing happened to us. Obviously, we never spoke to that guy again, nor did we see any of the footage.
I consider myself very lucky. Not once did it cross our mind that someone could actually harm or hurt us.
I would not advise any girl to do the same thing; however; I believe that as long as you don't focus on the bad stuff; the bad people out there, you won't attract them and as soon as you get into a situation where you sense a feel of danger; you act immediately and remove yourself from the situation.

Looking back, that was pretty stupid yet hilarious at the same time. Can you tell we were adventurous?