Originally published August 13, 2008 at 12:00 AM | Page modified August 14, 2008 at 12:00 AM
When it's hot, take extra precautions for your pets
With forecasts of warmer weather the next few days, animal shelters have issued reminders about protecting pets from the heat.
With forecasts of warmer weather the next few days, animal shelters have issued reminders about protecting pets from the heat. Here are some tips provided by King county Animal Care and Control:
• Never leave pets (or youngsters!) unattended in a closed vehicle, because cars left in direct sunlight turn into lethal ovens. Even in cars parked in the shade with windows cracked open, pets can can suffer brain damage or death from heatstroke.
• At home, pets need access to indoors or shady/breezy spots at all times and an abundant supply of cool water. Dogs should only be exercised moderately in the early-morning or evening hours. When the temperature is uncommonly high, exercise should be abandoned altogether.
• Never leave pets chained or confined outdoors in the sun. Provide a shady area — a doghouse, porch or tree — and always provide plenty of cool water.
• If you must leave an animal indoors, leave it in a cool room and open a window. If possible, keep a fan running out of reach of the pet.
• Signs of heat stress in a pet include heavy panting, glazed eyes, rapid pulse, dizziness, vomiting and a deep red or purple tongue. If a pet becomes overheated, the animal's body temperature must be lowered immediately. Place the animal in a cool place and apply cool (not cold) water over the pet's body. Apply ice packs or cold towels only to the head, neck and chest. Let the animal drink small amounts of cool water or lick ice cubes. The pet should then be taken immediately to a veterinarian.
• Pet owners can be prosecuted for animal cruelty if a pet dies or is found suffering from the heat due to the owner's neglect.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business
Illegal workers quietly let go
Metro won't cut bus service after all
Jerry Large: Food-bank theft turns into a gift
Bumper to Bumper: How can the city let bridges go dark?

PNW Magazine | Easy As Pie
A little friendly competition between professional pie-baker Kate McDermott and The Seatttle Times' Kathleen Triesch Saul is handled with great taste.
general classifieds
Garage & estate salesFurniture & home furnishings
Sporting goods
just listed
42" Hitachi Plasma 1080i - $500
8 Drawer Dresser with Attached Mirror - $200
8 seat pecon formal dining table and china hutch - $1500
More listings
POST A FREE LISTING
shopping
events for Monday, Nov. 23
- B-Bam! Online 10 Percent Off Sale
- Ian Black Friday 3-Day Sale
- Ravenna Holiday Arts and Crafts Sale
- Birth and Beyond Baby Closing Sale
editors' picks
- Independent video stores
- Neighborhood shopping
- Spas & beauty salons
- Phinney Ridge & Greenwood shopping
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Tugboat sinks at Seattle waterfront pier
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Woman stabbed by stranger in North Seattle
- Snow piles up on Cascade slopes
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Illegal workers quietly let go
403 - Climate change speeds up since 1997 Kyoto accord
215 - Metro won't cut bus service after all
160 - New Husky recruit: Enes Kanter
105 - Bellevue residents blast new bikini espresso stand
86 - Middleton says Huskies "plan on scoring at least 50 points'' Saturday
86 - Tattoos at Mill Creek Church pierce skin, soul
85 - Jerry Brewer: Seahawks can't lean on the Hutch Crutch now
75 - Seattle woman charged with knife attack on boyfriend's ex
75 - Senate Democrats split on health bill's fate
58
- Sprouts, raw fish on attorney's 'do not eat' list
- Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul
- Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Architects, chefs find 'kid' within to build Gingerbread Village
- Rediscovering Moab, 'the most beautiful place on Earth'
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Hutch gets $10M from Bezos family for immunotherapy research

