Tips to protect your pet from heat-related illness as extreme weather persists

With temperatures soaring into the triple digits, heat-induced illnesses aren’t just a concern for people, but for pets, too.

Like every summer in Albuquerque, stray animals with heat exhaustion symptoms are arriving at city shelters, said Animal Welfare Department Deputy Director Susan Ellis. But unlike every summer, the city is under excessive heat warnings this year.

On Tuesday, temperatures climbed to a high of 103 degrees Fahrenheit in Albuquerque. It’s the eighth day of triple-digit weather in July. Normally, the city experiences between two and three 100-degree-plus days in a year.

Though the high in Albuquerque didn’t break a record, some locations in New Mexico were hotter than they’ve ever been. Las Vegas reached 100 degrees for the first time in recorded history on Tuesday, according to a tweet from the National Weather Service in Albuquerque.

Roswell set a daily record at 111 degrees, topping the previous hottest temperature for July 18 by four degrees.

Animals are just as vulnerable as humans to the extremely hot weather. When a stray arrives at a shelter, they can splash around in kiddie pools to beat the heat. AWD’s shelters are air conditioned, and equipped with backup units if needed. Shelter volunteers walk and play with dogs outside in the morning to avoid the hottest, and most dangerous, hours of the day.

However, city shelters are close to capacity, with around 1,000 animals currently in their care, Ellis said.

“We’re not comfortable with the number we’re at,” Ellis said.

The public can take stray animals to one of 37 microchip scanning locations in the city to reunite pets with their owners and prevent the animals from arriving at shelters already strained for space, Ellis said.

Protect your pets

But strays aren’t the only animals in danger — family pets can die of heat stroke in their owners’ backyards or cars if not cared for properly. Since the beginning of this month AWD has responded to 61 calls about dogs left in vehicles, where temperatures can quickly climb above 100 degrees, Ellis said.

None of the pets AWD responded to died or suffered great harm, she said.

Pets should never be left in parked cars, even on cooler days the internal temperature can rise quickly. On an 85-degree day, the inside of a car, even with the windows cracked, can reach 102 degrees within 10 minutes and 120 degrees after 30 minutes, according to the City of Albuquerque Animal Welfare Department’s website.

There are certain measures owners should take to protect their pets from heat-induced illness, Ellis said.

When dogs are left outdoors they should always have shade and water, however, some dogs are much more vulnerable to the heat and owners should adjust their time outdoors accordingly. Younger and elderly dogs are more susceptible to heat-induced illness.

Particular breeds also have lower heat tolerances, such as dogs with short noses, like pugs, or dogs with long hair, like chow chows.

“They’re wearing a fur coat,” said Desiree Cawley, the marketing manager for the city’s Animal Welfare department.

Should you walk your dogs in the heat?

Walking your dog can also be a hazard during the hottest hours of the day. Hot surfaces, such as asphalt and sand, can cause second-degree burns on the paws of pets within 35 seconds, according to a safety poster on AWD’s website.

“If it’s too hot for bare feet, it’s too hot for bare paws,” the poster said.

Ellis recommended taking dogs on walks earlier in the day, and if you must walk your dog in the afternoon, walk them on grass.

“You can get those booties if the dogs tolerate them,” Ellis said, “and if you don’t mind them walking funny.”

It’s also the owner’s responsibility to keep pets from overexerting themselves.

“A lot of dogs will continue to play past exhaustion,” Ellis said. “So you need to be able to monitor your pet and not push them past their capacity.”

When to take your over-heated pet to the vet

Pets can experience both heat exhaustion and heat stroke, the latter of which is deadly. Signs of heat stroke in dogs are: a loss of consciousness, heavy panting, excessive salivation, a deep red or purple tongue, extreme thirst, glazed eyes, restlessness or lethargy and vomiting.

If your pet exhibits these symptoms, take them to the veterinarian immediately and work to slowly cool their body temperature.

Bring them into a cooler environment, preferably air conditioned, and apply ice packs or cold towels to your pet’s head, neck and chest.

A good rule of thumb is “if you’re going to be uncomfortable outside — your pet’s gonna be uncomfortable outside,” Ellis said.