Dog owners in San Francisco are again contending with high temperatures, and SPCA veterinarians warn that some animals have to be watched more closely than others.
“Dogs, like people, need to acclimate to weather,” said Jennifer Scarlett, a veterinarian and interim co-president at the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The uptick into the 80s is cause for caution, and temperatures approaching 100 degrees are “problem temperatures” for pets that can’t sweat, Scarlett said. “All dogs and cats are susceptible to this heat.”
Cats tend to slip into the coolest corners of a home and take care of themselves, but certain breeds of dogs demand special consideration, she said.
Labradors are notorious for their lack of inhibition when playing fetch; heavy panting exacerbates a propensity for collapsed windpipes in Pomeranians; French bulldogs, pugs and other “smush-faced” dogs — en vogue these days — are “extremely” susceptible to heat exhaustion, SPCA veterinarians said.
Their snub noses compress the tissue surrounding the nasal passage, making it tougher for them to dissipate heat through panting. It also accounts for their snorts and snores.
Leaving animals inside a car on hot days is especially dangerous, and in 80-degree-plus weather, owners who do so can be charged with a felony, according to Deb Campbell, a spokeswoman for the city’s Animal Care and Control.
The center extracted at least a dozen pets from cars around the city during last week’s heat wave. “Anything over 80 degrees [inside the car] and they pull the dog,” Campbell said.
Wag Hotels, one of a handful of doggie daycare kennels in the Mission, makes a point of keeping its clients’ canines out of the sun in September and October — typically when San Francisco’s summer hits.
The animals are treated to an air-conditioned indoor play space dubbed the fishbowl. Hotel employees are seeing a small but noticeable increase in clients, which general manager Natalie McCaleb ascribes to the spate of hot weather.
Rather than check her dog, Bully, into daycare, Patricia Moore hosed off the 135-pound French mastiff at home last week. On Wednesday afternoon, Moore walked Bully along 14th Street — slowly, and carrying an extra bottle of water.
“She just can’t stand the heat,” said Moore, who tapers off the length of her walks according to the temperature, a practice recommended by the SPCA. “It’s too much for her.”
Val, a young woman sporting close-cropped hair and a six-shooter tattoo on her left arm, unhooked her two-year-old French bulldog, Elliette, from a parking meter outside Bi-Rite Market during last week’s heat. Huffing and puffing at the end of her leash, the pint-sized pet shuffled up 18th Street toward Dolores Park while Val strolled behind, relaying the diagnosis of a veterinary visit two days prior.
“It was heat-related,” Val said. “She just had a high temperature.”
The SPCA keeps a list of summer safety tips for pet owners on its website: www.sfspca.org.
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