The Waiting Room

Husband, the Boy and I headed to a park near Big Ass Uni yesterday evening. Husband was meeting a buddy for their Thursday evening run. I thought it would be nice to take the Boy for a walk.

As the guys took off, the Boy began to tug on his leash. I thought that this was because he saw Daddy running and wanted to go too. No such luck. Then, I thought maybe he was just overwhelmed by all the fresh smells. Nope.

What was the object of his interest? A Yorkshire Terrier.

Now, the Boy often gets excited when he sees another dog. He wants to visit and hopefully make a new friend. So, he tends to tug a little harder on the leash, so that he can make the other dog's acquaintance. But, this time, he leash behavior could be described as frenzied. I mean he was pulling me HARD. There was no controlling him. Even "heel" which is normally part of his understood vocabulary, did not work.

He must of dragged me at least a mile before we finally caught up with the little dog. And he was instantly interested in the dog's back-end. I mean REALLY interested.

Translation: The little dog was in heat.

Well thankfully, the Boy is fixed, or I would be really worried about paying puppy support. And the little dog was a little distracted by a group of kid who want to visit with both dogs. After about a minute, the Boy and I were on our way.

But, I noticed something strange about the Boy. He was panting heavily and looking a little sick. We found a bench in the shade. I always carry water and a collapsible water bowl for the Boy. I began giving him sips of water. It was clear that the Boy was overheated.

We sat on the bench for a good 15 minutes, when Husband and his buddy came by. I told Husband the story. Husband gave the Boy water from his bottle. After another 10 minutes, we thought it would be best to get the Boy home. We stopped by a little creek on the way back to the car to let the Boy get wet. You really know a pooch is hot when they will not shake their fur after being in the water!

We drove home with the AC running and the windows open. Husband sprayed the Boy with the garden hose for extra cooling and to get the smell of the creek out of him. (The water was pretty gross).

I was so worried for my Boy. I thought for sure I would have to call the ER vet. But, he is much better and was back to his old self.

Just another reminder that even pooches can get overheated in the warm weather.