How To Keep Your Pets Safe During Heat Advisories

Hydration and shade are the two keys to keep your furry friends safe during this week’s very hot conditions.

Cookeville-Putnam County Animal Shelter Director Jennifer Hutchinson-Tracey said depending on the breed and weight, heat-illnesses can occur in 40 minutes or less.

“It’s as dangerous for pets as it is for people quite honestly, so the same thing that can happen to people with excessive exposure and lack of protection against this heat can also happen to your pet,” Hutchinson-Tracey said. “So heat exhaustion, heat stroke and potentially death.”

Hutchinson-Tracey said if you have a senior pet or an animal with a smushed face, this would be the time to bring them indoors. Hutchinson-Tracey said owners should also limit exercise to short walks.

“Those animals really struggle in the higher heat or humidity,” Hutchinson-Tracey said.

Hutchinson-Tracey said rapid panting, upset stomachs or disorientation are all signs of heat-illnesses.

“The first thing to look for is that rapid, rapid panting,” Hutchinson-Tracey said. “The panting is how they try to cool themselves off, because cats and dogs do not sweat.”

Also be mindful of your pet’s feet on asphalt and never leave your animal in a vehicle unoccupied.

“This is not the time to take your pet along with you,” Hutchinson-Tracey said. “You never know. You may just run into the gas station and get held up at the cash register thinking you’re going to be in there two minutes. Two minutes turns into 10 and it is 120 degrees in your car. It is not worth the risk.”