The beauty and danger of summer

 Over the last week we have 4 friends who have lost their pets pretty suddenly.  A dog, a cat, a guinea pig and a horse.  All these beloved pets were older but their deaths came quickly and unexpectedly.  

None were attributed specifically to the heat, but Marc and I talked about whether the hot temps could have contributed to their passing.

We keep a close eye on our dogs and cats.  The cats are all indoor cats so we don't worry too much.  We keep a very close eye on Sisko since the heat effects him so strongly.  But Booker is young, thin, and seems relatively uneffected by the heat.

I got home from work today. It was hot, as it has been, but also VERY humid.  Sisko came running to greet me.  Booker also greeted me at the door, but his greeting was markedly muted.

Marc shared that he took them out shortly before I got home to walk with them briefly around the trail.  Suddenly he noticed that Booker was just gone.  He said he looked everywhere, calling for him, searching the trail, and began to panic.

He took Sisko into the house and began searching frantically - running the trail, yelling for him, even looking down the road in fear that he had ventured into the road and just couldn't find him.  Marc said he didn't know what to do and went back in and let Sisko out.  

Dogs are amazing.  Sisko walked with Marc partway around our trail and just stopped.  Marc looked where he was standing and sure enough, there was Booker, completely hidden under a bush just off the trail.  Marc said he must have went by him multiple times when he was looking for him and didn't see him.  And Booker hadn't come out despite Marc yelling for him.

He followed Marc back to the house but was panting excessively. He drank some water but clearly was not himself when I got home.  He laid under my computer desk and didn't follow me when I left the room.  And he ALWAYS follows me.

I then offered him some treats.  Sisko happily chomped his down.  Booker took his but then spit it out.  That's when I got a little worried.

We kept an eye on him for the next couple of hours and just let him chill and relax.  By this evening, he was back to normal.  He ate a bunch of food and was back to playing with his toys and annoying the cats.  

We are thinking that he must have run around too much and got overheated.  It is a reminder that we need to keep an eye on him and make sure he is moderating his activities.  Sisko is older and seems to know his limits - he was perfectly fine.  But Booker hasn't learned yet,  so we need to be his off button!