Old age means realizing you will never own all the dogs you wanted to.Well, I am certainly learning a lot about heat and Professor Jiggs.
We are about to enter a series of days with temperatures in the high 90s and low 100s. When I got home today, the air conditioning was on, but Jiggs was upstairs where the air conditioning does not reach.
When I let him out, he stayed out for about three minutes and came back into the house. Obviously, it was just too hot.
But when I went out to sit in the shade of the back yard, he was willing to stay out -- and has been out there all evening. I thought when I came in to work on the computer, he would follow. Instead, he has been barking at me to get back outside.
As long as I provide water for him (and he is ready to drink his fill), he is happy to be out on the lawn -- even if it is still 85 degrees.
I thought about camping out on the grass with him tonight, but the mosquitoes appear to be doing squadron maneuvers in force. I will see if I can cajole him back into the house.
If he survives until I leave, he just may be able to withstand the heat of Melaque.
7 comments:
You won't be doing him any favors by leaving him behind. I don't know how you could even consider the heartbreak of separation. All he will know until his dying day is that he is no longer with the person who was his companion and caretaker for most of his life.
--mariemcc
Glad he is enjoying the heat. Maybe it feels good on his arthritic old bones, it's got to feel better than the chilly damp (this said from a personal point of view).
mariemcc -- If he is still alive and able to travel, he will go with me. If he is still alive and not able to travel, I will most likely postpone my move.
brenda -- I am surprised at how well he is dealing with the heat. I tried to sleep with him in the basement last night, but he insisted on going back up stairs. He is outside right now on the grass. By the way, it is well that I did not camp out on the lawn last night. I forgot about the 3 AM irrigation.
He may shed a bit at first, but I'm sure he'll be fine with the heat. Dogs aren't that fragile. Growing up in California, we didn't have air conditioning and we had an outdoor dog. Our dog would find a shady spot or lie on the cement in the garage.
I hope he's up for the trip and spends his last days with you in Mexico.
Best of luck to you both.
--mariemcc
BoBo is exactly the same way. Sometimes she would be panting so hard outside that we have to force her to go inside. If Professor Jiggs isn't prone to have hot spots, I'm sure Mexico would not be a problem for him.
BoBo's Mom -- Jiggs has never suffered from hot spots. He went through a period of psychotic lick disorder (a period of about -- oh -- 11 years), but that is no longer an issue. Like most dogs, he is smart enough to find the collest spot.
mariemcc -- You are correct about dogs not being fragile. They have an amazing ability to survive extremes. When he had the ability, Jiggs liked to stretch out in the bath tub. An air conditioning vent blew into the tub. He thought it was summer heaven. I doubt he will make it to Mexico, but I thought he was not going to make it past 10.
I LOVE the "psychotic lick disorder" - for 11 years! Flash DID have hot spots here in Mexico but the vet gave her a shot when it happened and it was ok then....
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