By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — In the August heat, both people and animals can be subject to physical damage.
"Dogs that kind of have that shorter face tend to have a harder time, especially, kind of oxygenating when it's hot and humid out," said Erica Miller, DVM, with Apple Lane Animal Hospital. "Really, any dog does."
There was a dog brought in to the practice by a Good Samaritan recently suffering from heat-related illness.
"It was just your general medium-size lab mix," said Miller. "It was very overheated. Dogs are going to be panting extremely heavily, just a little bit out of it. The dog that was brought in to us was just laying on the side of the road, panting heavily, not really responsive."
The Good Samaritan tried to give the dog water, but the dog vomited it up, so Miller had to take a different approach.
"They're really stressed," Miller said. "At the point this dog was, they need something more than just drinking a little bit of water. We start IV fluids, which does kind of bring their core body temperature down. We do wet them. We wet them on their underside, their belly and their paw pads and their ears, where they are going to start cooling down quicker as opposed to where their coat is."
They also try to get a fan on them and check their temperature frequently. Most importantly, don't let an emergency like this be the first time your pet sees the vet. Establish a relationship with your veterinarian so that you know who to call if something happens.