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July 10, 2007

Keep your pets safe during the warm weather

As the weather heats up, King County Animal Care and Control urges pet owners to take extra precautions to keep their furry friends healthy and safe. Warm weather poses a number of dangers for pets that can turn fatal.

Eight tips to protect your pets in warm weather:

  1. Never leave pets in parked vehicles for any length of time. On a warm day, the temperature in a vehicle can reach 120 degrees within minutes, even with the windows cracked. Dogs and cats do not perspire and can only dispel heat by panting and through the pads of their feet. Animals left in parked cars can suffer brain damage and die from heatstroke.
  2. Provide plenty of water and shade for your pets so they can stay cool and hydrated during the warm weather.
  3. If you have a pool, prevent free access to the pool by your pets. Pets and pools can equal a drowning tragedy.
  4. Spay or neuter your unaltered dog. The number of dog bites increases during warm weather, and spaying or neutering reduces the likelihood that your dog will wander or bite, along with providing other health benefits.
  5. Make sure your pet is licensed. If you are separated from your pet, a current King County pet license will ensure your animal is returned to you. Not only will you be notified if your lost pet is found, your pet will get a free ride home the first time it is impounded.
  6. Be careful with the use of fertilizers and other products around the lawn and garden. Plant food, fertilizer, and insecticides can be fatal if your pet ingests them.
  7. Though pets need exercise during warm weather, take extra care when exercising older dogs, short-nosed dogs, and dogs with thick coats. On hot days, limit exercise to early morning or evening hours. Remember that asphalt gets very hot and can burn your pet’s paws.
  8. Summer is flea and tick season, so make sure your flea and tick treatment is recommended by your veterinarian.

Citizens who see an animal in a parked car or pets otherwise in need of assistance can call King County Animal Care and Control at 206-296-PETS (7387) or dial 911.