Today was a scorcher, and walking the dogs was quite amusing. Several of them ran from tree to tree, where they would lie down enjoying some shade before moving on to the next oasis! It is a tough call as to whether to walk them at all, but bearing in mind they get so few chances to exercise, it is a shame to deny them this pleasure, just because it is hot. Walks are kept short and we make sure that there is plenty of cool water and shade for when they return to their kennels.
Of course another option is to put dogs in the parks. But we learned something today (or at least I did). At about 16H00 Kaira was rushed to the vet, with suspected bloat. Kaira is a dogue de Bordeaux, and they are susceptible to this condition and in fact we nearly lost Kaira earlier this year when she had an emergency operation. Since this time she has had fewer, smaller meals a day.
Today her condition looked very similar, but it turned out to be due to having drunk too much water. So we now know not to put obese or deep chested dogs in the parks when it is hot. They run around and drink too much and get a kind of heat stroke.
Kaira will be fine, and we have learned a valuable lesson.
So what other news? Well, yet another amazing adoption took place today. At the age of nearly eleven, and after over nine months at the SPA, Junior found a home! He stole a young couple’s heart thanks to the (French language) SPA website http://spa-carcassonne.wifeo.com/ and when they visited him, it just confirmed their choice. Junior will have a huge area to play in, and is going to be a very happy dog indeed.
Kaira – too hot, too much to drink. (anyone else guilty?) 😉
Junior- (who is a senior) – ADOPTED