LONDONDERRY — With the weather expected to be hot this weekend, the dog days of summer are again upon us.

For pet owners, that means special precautions must be taken to make sure pets, like their owners, can weather a hot snap safely.

Milford resident Kate Tarbox Anderson said she's been particularly careful this week to watch for any indications of overheating in her chocolate Labrador retriever, Buddy.

“It's important to know the signs (of heat stoke) like nonstop panting or a strange, dazed look in their eyes,” she said.

Additional signs include dry mucus membranes, lethargy, loss of consciousness and thickened saliva.

In cats, signs of heat stroke include restless behavior, rapid pulse, vomiting, staggering gate, and excessive grooming or drooling.

Lindsey Todt, owner of Pooch Pals pet sitting in Hooksett, said she and her employees are constantly on guard for signs of heatstroke in the dogs they care for.

“When we go for walks we try to keep them in the shade as much as possible and avoid walking on asphalt as a dog's paw pads can burn,” Todt said.

“I think the best advice I have is for people to just use common sense,” noted Dr. Walt Grambow, a veterinarian at the Plaistow-Kingston Animal Medical Center. “On warmer days, the car should obviously be avoided.”

In his two decades as a veterinarian, Grambow said he's been fortunate to have only witnessed a handful of tragedies resulting from a pet being left in a hot car.

“Luckily, such instances aren't very common, at least in my experience, because most pet owners know better,” he said.

At the Animal Hospital of Nashua, staff members have been known to open a pet cooling center on the hottest of days, with clients invited to bring their pets to the hospital's air-conditioned kennels.

That hasn't been necessary this summer, according to Communications and Outreach Director Eva Notter, though it hasn't been ruled out.

At the Humane Society for Greater Nashua, staff and volunteers took the dogs only on the briefest of walks during Friday's 92-degree afternoon.

“We take them out to do their business, then bring them right back inside,” Operations Manager Deb Vaughn said. “Sheltering animals is stressful enough for these guys …and frankly, people don't really want to be outdoors for too long, either.”

For many pampered pooches, staying home is a cooler option.

Nashua resident Mark Britton said his 80-pound mixed-breed dog Moose prefers to stay indoors on hot, humid days and, much like his human family members, he appreciates the creature comforts of air conditioning and well-placed fans.

In Amherst, Michelle Barry said she tries to keep her three rescued retriever mixes indoors during the peak sun hours of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“Walks need to be early in the morning or later in the day, when the temperature goes down,” she said.

When her pups venture outdoors, Barry said she provides them with a kiddie pool, which she fills up with a hose and places in the shade, much to the delight of Bowie, Zappa and Beckett.

“You've got yourself a puppy pool party,” she said.

Cat lover Jennifer Wolf said she turns on the air conditioner inside her Nashua home especially for her kitties.

“When I lived in the country, we didn't have air conditioning,” she added. “My cats were always afraid of the fans, so that was never a solution. But really, the best thing is to just leave them be and make sure there's plenty of fresh water. Nobody likes snuggles on a hot day.”
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