METAIRIE (WGNO)— In this extreme heat it is important to make sure you keep your dogs cool outside to keep them from getting heat stroke or heat related injuries.
Dr. Cody Mannino, Medical Director and Emergency Medicine Veterinarian at MedVet in Metairie wants to make sure pets like “Jax” don’t suffer from heat stroke.
“In the summer months especially in Louisiana, you need to give an environment in which they have access to waters, fans, or an air conditioned environment,” Dr. Mannino said.
She suggests if your dog is an outdoor pet then make sure your pet has access to shade.
Dr. Mannino says you must be careful when walking your dogs because the cement could give them thermal burns.
“Their paws are very sensitive. The environment is important, so grass and soil is better than cement,” she said.
She says certain breeds of dogs are more prone to heat-related injuries.
“Anything that doesn’t have a long snout means their anatomy is shortened so is their ability to cool off, their cooling in nasal passages is diminished and altered,” she said.
In this heat, dog owner’s like Michael Butler give his pup extra TLC.
“Dogs are a part of our family. You know they are our fur babies. We are their fur dads and fur moms. We want to make sure they stay cool,” Butler said.
And if you notice your dog isn’t doing well, the vet recommends…
“Put room temperature tap water on their paws or fur and get them to the vet as soon as possible,” Dr. Mannino said.
Also the Northshore Humane Society located on Harrison Ave. in Covington is calling for the community’s help by temporarily fostering a shelter dog through the week’s expected record high temperatures.
The call for help comes after shelter staff and volunteers struggled to keep dogs cool during last week’s high temperatures. Shelter staff says that their shelter air conditioning is unable to keep up in this type of heat in their older building.
If you’d like to help foster a dog this week, click HERE.