From the Humane
Society of Elmore County
While summer in Alabama is always hot, we are in a pattern of excessive heat that is dangerous to humans and animals alike. We cannot say this enough – bring your dogs and cats INSIDE in the A/C during the high heat of our afternoons – PLEASE! If that is just not possible then your pets need extra measures to help them get through this heat safely. They need lots and lots of shade, preferably with moving air from a fan perhaps. And lots and lots and lots of fresh, cool water.
Go buy a plastic kiddie pool if you don’t already have one, put it in a shaded area and fill it up – dump it and re-fill it daily. Go buy some bags of ice and put in the pool as an extra help. One small dish or bucket of water is simply not enough. Perhaps make arrangements with a neighbor to let your pet inside in the afternoon while you are at work. They will be happy to take a long and comfy nap until you get home. Another possibility is to look into doggy daycare where they can have some fun inside in the A/C with only short exercise periods outside.
For anyone that thinks their chained dog with an igloo is ok – it is NOT! Those igloos in the sun are nothing more than plastic ovens. Keeping any animal tethered in the sun with only an igloo for ‘cover’ is absolute cruelty and we truly hate thinking about the dogs who will die lonely and painfully when left in this heat without proper preparation and protection.
And for those owners of brachycephalic breeds – Pugs, French Bulldogs, English Bulldogs, Boston Terriers, Pekingese, etc – they absolutely MUST be kept inside in the air-conditioning. Their respiratory systems are challenged enough in many cases, and even a short time outside in this heat can be fatal for those breeds.
If you see a pet in distress, please get involved and call your local police or Sheriff’s Dispatch so an Animal Control Officer can respond.
Looking to a hopefully much cooler time of the year is our 19th annual Bark in the Park at Fort Toulouse on Sunday, 21 September from Noon – 4 pm (rain date is Sun, 28 Sep)! There will be plenty to do and see at Bark in the Park – vendors, food, demonstrations, Microchip Clinic ($25), Blessing of the Pets, Pet Parade, Contests, Bark in the Park T-Shirts and fantastic raffle baskets!
As we look forward to a huge crowd of both humans and dogs enjoying the afternoon at Fort Toulouse time for area Vendors to jump on board! We welcome local businesses, clubs, civic groups, etc to join us and our Vendor fee is only $40. Vendors must bring your own tables/pop-up/chairs and there is no electricity available so if you must bring a generator please let us know for site planning. You can find our info and Vendor Application/payment at this link: https://www.elmorehumane.org/event-calendar.html
Admission to Bark in the Park is $5/person 13 years old and older. ALL dogs coming to Bark in the Park must be good in public, meaning good around children, adults and other dogs in a very busy situation, AND they must have a current rabies tag/proof of rabies vaccination to come to the Park.
