By Teri DiMarino
August 20, 2015
Summer’s sweltering heat comes as a welcome relief from the grips of the difficult winter season that much of the united states suffered through recently. Snow suits have given way to swim suits and we slather ourselves with sun screen instead of sweaters, jackets, gloves and hats. Our animals delight in the summer too as they get back into the routine of leisurely walks and summertime adventures. but with the warmer weather and humidity also comes the stark reality that summer heat can kill. Innocently left in cars, children and animals become the unwitting victims of this silent and devastating killer. Overheating of children and animals is an avoidable disaster that we all need to be acutely aware of; especially this time of year.
According to www.noheatstroke.org, 645 children have died in hot automobiles because the organization first started keeping track of this disaster in 1998. That is an average of 37 per year, with 8 already recorded in the U.S. as of June of this year. but while there are statistics available for the human death toll, who is keeping track of the numerous animals who die in this tragic manner? sadly there are no numbers documenting the number of animals who meet their end in this heartbreaking way.
The majority of the unfortunate human deaths were due to forgetfulness. It’s early morning and a weary parent straps their still half-asleep child into their automobile seat and proceeds to drive to work, forgetting to drop off the slumbering child at daycare or school. The napping youngster in the back is forgotten about until it is too late. I cannot think of the pain these people have to live with for the rest of their lives.
With dogs, it plays out a bit differently. numerous times a canine owner will take “Buffy” with them for a short ride while they run into the store “for just a minute” and, because “just a minute” is never “just a minute” they get caught up in conversation or shopping and, temporarily, forget about Buffy in the backseat. Well, heatstroke on a warm summer day happens very quickly. The pet is left in the automobile with the window cracked open a bit. even if they do not forget about Buffy, the owner may really believe that this will give the pet enough ventilation to avoid a problem, but they are wrong! very wrong! The temperature in a closed automobile can climb over 30 degrees within 15 minutes. This is enough to stress, and potentially kill, the average pet. simply stated, if you are going to take a short automobile ride or run a quick errand, LEAVE BUFFY HOME!
With that said, a group of pet industry authors recently banded together and launched a Facebook campaign to help pet owners and professionals alike, become much more cognizant of the real dangers of heatstroke. The Facebook page, “Canine Heatstroke Awareness” was created and June 13 has been deemed “Canine Heatstroke awareness Day”.
Originally launched in 2014 “Pet Heatstroke awareness Day” was the brainchild of Mary Oquendo and Debi Hilly. In late-May of this year Mary and Debi were running out of time and ideas to spread the word even more prior to the June 13, 2015; the first anniversary of Pet Heatstroke awareness Day. A quick Facebook post requesting help was answered by Ali Franklin of Groomers Mall. Ali embraced the project and she put out a request to the authors of the industry, requesting articles that would be interesting to the general public and pet professionals alike. Articles began coming in and the Facebook page began taking shape. This was a very time-sensitive project with only a few weeks to put everything together. While some of the authors were unable to produce an short article on such short notice, numerous did. Others shared their blog links, which already had articles addressing the problem.
June 13 came and Ali Franklin launched the Facebook page “Canine Heatstroke Awareness”. She initially put it out to their Groomers mall Facebook page. It right away went out to all 3,800 of the people linked to their Facebook page and then continued on to another 65,000 of their “friends”. It proceeded to be shared by another 1,200 individuals and has been moving forward ever since; having been shared by numerous industry companies and individuals. This was an remarkable demonstration of the power of social media.
Articles and blogs included stories of heatstroke tragedies and successes, as well as a plethora of information on the recognition and treatment of heatstroke among our furry friends. initially aimed at informing the general public, it took on another element among professionals, which is the awareness and proper use of any cage drying in our salons. My mantra is “a piece of equipment is only as good as the operator” and it is our hope that pet groomers around the world are cognizant and careful with the animals left in their care.
Speaking briefly with Ali Franklin at a recent show, she expressed her amazement innull
Leave a Reply