Don't force your pet to exercise especially during hot, humid weather. Keep the walks to a minimum and try to exercise in the early morning or evening.

Make sure to provide plenty of shade and a well constructed shelter for animals staying outside. Always provide plenty of fresh, cool water.

Keep your animals well groomed during the summer months. Shaving dog's with heavy coats to one-inch length helps prevent overheating. Do not shave fur down to the skin, doing such will rob him of protection from the sun. You should brush cats often during the hot months.

NEVER leave your pet in a vehicle. A parked vehicle can become extremely hot and over overwhelm your pet resulting in death. Even with the windows down and parking in the shade provides little protection. Do carry fresh water with you for your pet.

Hot Asphalt can heat up your pets body quickly and will burn his/her sensitive paw pads.

Use caution with Overweight and Older animals during hot weather. Also snub- nosed dogs such as Bulldogs, Pugs, Boston Terriers Lhasa Apsos and Shih Tzu's should also be monitored for signs of overheating easily.

Keep your cats indoors. During the Winter Months cats often sleep under hoods of cars to keep warm. This leads to unfortunate deaths or serious injures that could have been avoided. Make sure to bang loudly on your cars hood before starting the engine to startle any cats sleeping, so they will have time to escape.

Provide adequate shelter for any pets living outside. Make sure this shelter will protect him/her from all weather elements. Fill the shelter with cedar or some kind of bedding to help aide in keeping him/her warm. Change this bedding often, making sure it has not become wet or infested with fleas. And no matter what the weather always have clean drinking water available for your dog.

If you own a short-haired breed, consider getting a doggie sweater to keep him/her warm.

NEVER leave your pet in a vehicle during the winter months. It becomes extremely cold and your pet could freeze to death.

Wipe off your dog's paws when he/she comes back inside. It is possible for him/her to ingest Salt, Antifreeze or other chemicals.

Antifreeze is lethal for dogs and cats. Clean up all spills from your vehicle and consider using a product with less toxic propylene glycol rather than ethylene glycol.

NEVER shave your dog down to the skin, it provides him/her with warmth for the winter. When you bathe your dog be sure to do so inside and make sure that he/she is completely dry before returning outside

Pets in Hot Cars

Please remember that this time of year is to hot to keep your animal in a car with the windows rolled up when you go into the store. It only takes a very short time for the car to get so hot that your dog could or will die. Animal Control will be checking parking lots, and if you are caught with a dog in the car that is overheated, you can be arrested. Please take care of your pet.

The dangers:

Rolling down a window or parking in the shade doesn't guarantee protection either, since temperatures can still climb into the danger zone. And if the window is rolled down sufficiently, the pet can escape.

It takes only minutes for a pet left in a vehicle on a warm day to succumb to heatstroke and suffocation. Most people don't realize how hot it can get in a parked car on a balmy day. However, on a 78 degree day, temperatures in a car parked in the shade can exceed 90 degrees -- and hit a scorching 160 degrees if parked in the sun! Many experts recommend not to leave pets or children in parked cars even for short periods if the temperature is in the 60s or higher.

Animals are not able to sweat like humans do. Dogs cool themselves by panting and by sweating through their paws. If they have only overheated air to breathe, animals can collapse, suffer brain damage and possibly die of heatstroke. Just 15 minutes can be enough for an animal's body temperature to climb from a normal 102.5 to deadly levels that will damage the nervous and cardiovascular systems, often leaving the animal comatose, dehydrated and at risk of permanent impairment or death.

Precautions:

* Leave your dog at home on warm days.

* On trips with your pet, bring plenty of fresh drinking water and bowl.

* Don't let dogs ride loose in pick-up truck beds. The hot metal can burn a dog's paws, the sun and flying debris can hurt the dog, the dog can accidentally be thrown out of the truck if the brakes are suddenly applied, and the dog can jump out if scared or upon seeing something interesting to chase. Instead, use a crate to create a safer space for the dog if you can't fit the dog inside the truck cab.

* Take the dog into the shade, an air conditioned area, or to the vet if you see signs of heat exhaustion, which include restlessness, excessive thirst, heavy panting, lethargy, dark tongue, rapid pulse, fever, vomiting, glazed eyes, dizziness, or lack of coordination. To lower body temperature gradually, give the animal water to drink, place a cold towel or ice pack on the head, neck and chest, and/or immerse the dog in cool (not cold) water. Call your veterinarian.