Friday, May 8, 2009

Hot Paws

by George Jepson


Steve & Bessie at Desert Haven

Here in the southwest it’s that time of year again: Folks out walking their dogs, mostly small ones, completely oblivious to the temperature of the sidewalks and the asphalt pavement; dogs bouncing along, taking five steps to master’s every one, in an attempt to keep their feet off the hot surface. It is not a test of a dog’s “manhood” to be able to take walking along on pavement that’s 140 degrees.

Let me ask you to do this: take your shoes and socks off and walk along beside your dog on that very same pavement, Hey! If you can take it. But don’t do it for too long because you’ll be asking for second degree burns. If I were to force you to stand on that hot pavement, in your bare feet, I would be charged with aggravated assault. This is serious stuff. Take care of these guys. Large or small, paws are paws and they can be burned and crippled. So walk your dog in the cool of the day. If you’re unsure of the temperature of the pavement, place your bare hand down on it for a slow count of 10. If you can do it then it’s probably OK. Happy walking.

Oh! Same thing goes for making a dog stand on the bare metal of the back of a pickup truck. Man, that surface gets hot.

Sent in by

George Jepson

T or C New Mexico

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