“CHECK THE HEAT BENEATH THEIR FEET” s.r.

I had no hesitation this morning as I pulled up to my desk. Sometimes I sit and ponder a while as I enjoy my coffee, finally coming up with something that inspires me to write. This morning I’m inspired but not in a good way. My hubby and I spent the last couple of days in the mountains; we needed to get away. It was wonderful to breath the fresh mountain air, swim in the lake and basically enjoy a change of scenery. Everyone was socially distanced, masked up and being very conscious of what is going on in the world today.

All was great until we walked into town. On Tuesday afternoon we decided to take a quick trip into town. For those of you who are not familiar with Lake Arrowhead in California, it is a picturesque little town (very small) to meander around with shops and restaurants lining the walkways. I have always loved visiting the little town, no matter what season it is. But it’s summer and I am not a fan of super hot weather and walking in it is even worse.

As we set out around the little town I noticed dogs. I hadn’t thought that anyone would have their dogs out walking in that type of heat. As we entered the main area of the little town a woman with a small furry dog in her arms and was leaving. As she passed by us I heard her saying “is it too hot for your feet?” I quickly bent over and lay my hand flat on the pavement. “Holy crap that’s hot” I said to my husband. A couple out in front of us with two dachshunds watched me, which I was happy for. The woman held one dog in her arms but the other very overweight large one had to walk. I imagined the heat that he was suffering.

The ground beneath us was not just warm, not just hot, but scalding hot. There was no way that any of the humans around us would be walking barefoot on it. Even the surface in the shade was hot. As the sun moves the shade moves as well…obviously. No spot there in the little town had been able to elude the scorching sun. I couldn’t tell everyone that the ground was too hot to have their dog’s on it; although in that moment I wished I had had a microphone hooked up to speakers all around. “Hey, listen up dog guardians, your dog’s feet are literally being burned as you walk them around here. Take them home, NOW.”

We left Riggs and Elsa at home with a pet sitter. It was a choice we made because we needed to get away and knew that we would be dining out in the heat. Everyone is dining out (outside) right now; you don’t have a choice to dine in. We had checked the weather and it was going to be hot. It is going to be even hotter today. There were a couple of dogs at the hotel and they were also a couple of the dogs who’s feet were being burned in town.

Please spread the word. I cannot emphasize how important this is enough. Some people don’t think about their dog’s feet when they are out. We have shoes on, of course we aren’t feeling how hot the ground is. There is a reason that we (my husband and I) head out with the early birds to run or walk Riggs and Elsa. The ground heats up very fast when the temperature rises. Even when it’s not super hot out, the surface under your dog’s feet can be extremely hot depending on what that surface is.

Not only does the heat from the pavement or other surface burn their feet, but the heat radiates from it and heats up their bodies, which are so much closer to the ground than ours. If you have dog loving friends, PLEASE share this. It is very difficult to intervene in someone’s life in the spur of the moment. Our human nature can cause us to become angry when someone we don’t know tries to tell us something (from experience). The more people who know before hand, hopefully the more dogs and their feet will be saved.

“CHECK THE HEAT BENEATH THEIR FEET” s.r.

This whole experience left me pondering on how to tell all the k9 guardians. I’m working on it.