When you are so focused on saving your dogs from the heat that you forget about protecting yourself

[Nik]

We reached record heat levels in the bay area, ca today. And we still have no ac at home. I rushed home from work as soon as I could to care for the dogs and cats to protect them from the heat ... it reached 109 at home and was 108 when I got home.

I immediately hosed both dogs down and the cats as well. None of them liked it but it did perk them up. I then put ice cubes in the dogs water dishes to let them play with that. Each time they dried off i rushed them into the hose water again to soak them and would give them more ice cubes.

I did this three times for the dogs and twice for the cats. The cats hate me now btw.

But I failed to do anything for me and basically just collapsed in the midst of hosing them off once more. So I turned the hose on myself which perked me up enough to crawl into a lawn chair. So here I lay dizzy and nautious in my lawn chair with diesel and kahlua on either side of me taking turns giving me tongue baths... which actually helps a bit. It is still 99 here but now cooler Outside then inside so we will stay here til the husband gets back from work and takes care of me. Which should be soon.

Dogs doing great. Cats grumpy and doing great. Me not so great. Maybe husband will hose me off and give me a tray of icecubes when he gets here. :/

 

[marke]

Nik , it's best not to wet a dogs coat when it's real hot , it loses it's insulation qualities ..... best is to wet their bellies and legs , from the knee and elbow on down and put a fan on them ..... dogs are designed to not lose or gain heat through their body ....... here's a death valley coyote , their fur insulates them from heat and cold

 

[Boxergirl]

Also be very careful not to cool an overheated dog too quickly. That can cause the blood vessels to constrict. Your dogs weren't overheated though, just passing along that info for anyone reading.

How are you feeling, Nik? I had heatstroke as a child. My temp was over 105. I remember very little, except the beginning and still get a vague uneasy feeling from some hallucinations I had. I'll share, because it's good for a giggle since I'm just fine. I remember sitting on the toilet and crying because the roll of toilet paper was growing larger and touching the ceiling. It was trying to throw me in the toilet, and I was terrified and clinging to the seat. As it turns out, that roll of toilet paper was my mom trying to pull me off at take me back to bed. Lol. To this day, anything unnaturally large makes me feel ill.

 

[Nik]

Nik , it's best not to wet a dogs coat when it's real hot , it loses it's insulation qualities ..... best is to wet their bellies and legs , from the knee and elbow on down and put a fan on them ..... dogs are designed to not lose or gain heat through their body ....... here's a death valley coyote , their fur insulates them from heat and cold

I had read that about huskies but I didnt realize it could be similar with our dogs with such short thin coats.

I will stick to the belly and legs and ice cubes for them. They loved the ice cubes!

 

[Nik]

Also be very careful not to cool an overheated dog too quickly. That can cause the blood vessels to constrict. Your dogs weren't overheated though, just passing along that info for anyone reading.

How are you feeling, Nik? I had heatstroke as a child. My temp was over 105. I remember very little, except the beginning and still get a vague uneasy feeling from some hallucinations I had. I'll share, because it's good for a giggle since I'm just fine. I remember sitting on the toilet and crying because the roll of toilet paper was growing larger and touching the ceiling. It was trying to throw me in the toilet, and I was terrified and clinging to the seat. As it turns out, that roll of toilet paper was my mom trying to pull me off at take me back to bed. Lol. To this day, anything unnaturally large makes me feel ill.

That is good advice that I hadn't considered. But as you said they hadnt overheated yet thank goodness.

As for me once I collapsed into my outdoor lawn chair feeling awful the dogs took turns drenching my face in slobber which actually helped.

When my husband got home he had me use frozen veggies as a pillow which helped even more and also made my hair smell like peas and carrots. lol

No hallucinations though. Your toilet paper incident does sound traumatic.

At the dentist when they give me laughing gas I tend to have vivid and disturbing hallucinations. Last time the dentist turned into a giant bobble head rat. It was awful. lol

 

[Bailey's Mom]

What happened to your air conditioner? I know your husband brought one home, didn't he hook it up?

 

[Nik]

What happened to your air conditioner? I know your husband brought one home, didn't he hook it up?

Not yet. :/
He needs to build a shelf for it and remove the caulking and glass pane and he hasnt yet (we dont have normal sliding windows so it is more of a process).

 

[Bailey's Mom]

This is where a lady should pull a faint...a slow, ladylike faint to the floor begging for relief. My husband has all the tools..boxes, kits, bags, rolling cart of...TOOLS!, but it takes forever to get things done. Only once have I pulled the tears (not good at drama), but it worked. I suspect it works only if you use it once a decade.

Tissues in hand, please actors to your marks...enter Nik...stage left...tears, swoon...all dogs and cats, swoon. And as he resuscitates you with a loving kiss, moan, "Oh, if only we had air conditioning" and swoon again in his arms. Cut...Print.... Move to the construction scene. Husband with tools. Action!

Well, it worked for me!

 

[DennasMom]

We spent a long weekend (5 days) in Eastern WA when it was in the 100's... Denna spent half the day in the cold Columbia river, swimming... the other half she spent sunbathing. I'd worry about her getting too hot... and she'd go sit in the sun. <sigh>

I like to get plastic food containers (4-8cup size), fill half-way with pieces of fruit and berries (Denna loves raspberries), and then fill with water and freeze. She'll curl up with them to chew on them for quite a while... out in the sunshine, of course, not the shade... and we normally have plenty of shade available.

We put central AC in the house a few years ago (I hated that we needed to do that here in Seattle)... it's been a life-saver this week, especially since we added the extra thick air filter to the system. Temps are "only" in the 90's but the air is FULL of smoke and ash from the wildfires covering the Northwest and Canada. It's hard to breathe outside.

 

[Nik]

We spent a long weekend (5 days) in Eastern WA when it was in the 100's... Denna spent half the day in the cold Columbia river, swimming... the other half she spent sunbathing. I'd worry about her getting too hot... and she'd go sit in the sun. <sigh>

I like to get plastic food containers (4-8cup size), fill half-way with pieces of fruit and berries (Denna loves raspberries), and then fill with water and freeze. She'll curl up with them to chew on them for quite a while... out in the sunshine, of course, not the shade... and we normally have plenty of shade available.

We put central AC in the house a few years ago (I hated that we needed to do that here in Seattle)... it's been a life-saver this week, especially since we added the extra thick air filter to the system. Temps are "only" in the 90's but the air is FULL of smoke and ash from the wildfires covering the Northwest and Canada. It's hard to breathe outside.

I feel for you with those fires. I lived in San Diego back when we had a really bad one. No sign of sunlight for days because the smoke was so thick in the sky and ashes raining down as if it were snow. With asthma I had to be so careful and wear a mask out in public. I have friends in Portland and Seattle who have been sending me photos of their cars covered in ashes and it brings me back to that fire. I hope they get it out soon.