If you are melting in the heat, imagine how miserable your furry friend must be. Summer 2024 is a certified sauna and pet parents need to take extra precautions to keep their loved ones safe and comfortable.
AG Block’s Sanjukta Saha has four dogs and so the first thing she did when the mercury started soaring was to service the air conditioners. “We have three Beagles and a Siberian Husky who are staying in the AC the whole time. They’re going out for walks at 6.30am and then again after 11pm. We’re giving them frequent baths and releasing ice cubes in their water bowls to keep it cool,” says Sanjukta.
Prithwiraj Biswas’s cats are being bathed every week. “Cats groom themselves and so we hardly washed them before this,” says the AJ Block resident. “But this is about preventing over-heating. It’s a relief that, unlike most cats, ours like to stay indoors and so aren’t exposed to the sun.”
Keep cool
Vet Subir Bhattacharya says some patients are coming with such high temperatures that he is having to dunk them in water before anything else. “There are pets with nosebleeds, nausea, loose motion, blood stool but heat stroke is the most dangerous condition this season,” says the vet who, in Salt Lake, sits at Pets Planet in Falguni Market and Animal Pride in BE Block.
But Bhattacharya breaks a myth about long-haired dogs suffering the most in the heat. “Short-coated dogs like Dobermans and Pugs suffer more while the long coat of breeds like Golden Retrievers helps insulate against the heat,” says the vet. “Nonetheless, they all have to be kept cool.”
Bathe your dog frequently, offer nutritious food like chicken soup and if he exhibits any abnormal behaviour, check his temperature. If it is above 104 ° F, dunk him in water, give ORS if you can, and rush to the vet.
Vet Nurul Islam notes that while many pets are suffering from overheating, their owners are hesitant to take them to clinics due to their own fear of venturing out in the heat. “I suggest daily baths (without shampoo), pet ORS (that can be offered to dogs, cats, birds alike) and cold drinking water (not ice). Wipe their bellies, and behind the ears with moist cloth multiple times a day and take them out for walks by 5.30am,” says the vet who sits at NKDA’s Pet Dog Creche And Clinic and also in Baguiati.
Street dogs at risk
Animal lovers are worried about street dogs who don’t have AC rooms to take refuge in.
“There’s a dog outside my house who I’ve brought into our staircase,” says Zobaida Faizal, an FE Block resident who feeds 80 to 100 dogs every day in FE, GD, KB-KC and LA blocks. “I’m feeding them by 7am as after that, they lose their appetite in the heat. Places like the KB-KC Block campuses have ample trees and sheds where the dogs are taking shelter but I’m worried about the others.”
These days many people keep earthen pots of water out for street animals to drink out of. “Whenever I go out, I refill these. The earthen material keeps the water cool. As for birds, they even bathe in such water holders,” Zobaida says.
Make a splash
All enquiries for the swimming pool at EE Block’s Pet Dreamland are for the evenings. “Since the poolside cafe is in open-air, families are finding it too hot to sit during the day. We’ve had to change our pool timings from 11am-9pm to 5pm-10pm,” says Sudhansh Shaw, a partner at the outlet.
Since there’s a rush in the evenings they are requesting families to pre-book slots. A single dog (or multiple dogs from the same family) is allowed in at a time.
The cafe plans to start a line of summer meals too, in collaboration with the pet store Heads Up For Tails (Huft). Doggie-special mutton and chicken biriyani may sound too rich for this season, but they have been developed in consultation with pet nutritionists, use pet-friendly spices and though they come packed, have no preservatives.
Light meals
Huft has launched hypoallergenic pet meals that are infused with probiotics to promote digestion and cool the stomach. They come in flavours like duck & quinoa and pork & quinoa. “We also have hydrating bone broth, a drink made by simmering vegetables and herbs but mostly bones of turkey, chicken or a combination of lamb, buffalo and pork. It can be served as a soup or frozen in ice trays and served as popsicle,” says Dibyendu Ghosh, manager of the AE Block branch of Huft. They cost Rs 249 for a 150ml pouch.
Tarun Gupta of Animel Planet has been recommending pet electrolytes to weather-beaten customers. Called Venlyte, the Rs 40 sachet is to be dissolved in a litre of water. “We also have some chew toys with gel inside that can be frozen,” says Gupta.
Pink Paws offers a cooling mat for pets to sit on. “The gel is made of material that is naturally cool but one can fold it and keep it in the fridge for a couple of hours for even better results,” says store executive Patrick Biswas. The mats, in three sizes, are priced within Rs 3,000.