Prior to my role here at PHS/SPCA, I spent seven years at Arizona Humane Society, so when I hear people complain about how hot it is I admit I tend to snicker. Not, however, when it comes to how hot it is — and how potentially dangerous it is — for dogs in the wrong place in our fairly temperate San Mateo summer. While we do have 100 degree days now and then, the average San Mateo summer high temperature of around 70 degrees is actually plenty hot enough to cause real problems. The temperature inside a car parked outside on a 70 degree day can reach approximately 90 degrees in 10 minutes, and can climb to 105 within half an hour. Hot enough to kill.
Dogs left outside do not necessarily fare any better. Water in bowls can become undrinkably hot, and concrete patios and pavers can become hot enough to singe. I’ve seen dogs scalded by water which has “cooked” in a hose when the owner tries to cool a dog down by such a shower. And here’s another risk: The unusually wet winter not only produced a wonderful abundance of spring wildflowers but also a killer crop of the weeds we call foxtails. The barbed and razor sharp “awns” (the stiff bristle which is attached to the seed) become especially dangerous after a few months of warm, dry weather. Designed to burrow into the dirt as part of this weed’s life-cycle, the awn is equally effective at digging into a dog’s ears, between the toes and up the nostrils requiring surgery to remove.
Oh, and just to add a bit more, summer heat is also a great time for fleas and other parasites to reproduce. Bottom line: If it’s too hot for you to lie around naked outside on the concrete while drinking water left standing for hours in a bowl, it’s also too hot for your pet.
Ken White is the president of the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA.