Well it’s the middle of the summer. The end of July. And it’s been a hot one. It is so hot during the day that at noontime, we give all the outside dogs’ fresh cold water again. The water that we fill up every morning, even in the shade is 80-90 degrees. Not very refreshing. We have several big pine trees down below in the fenced in area. And now we are finally finishing off the front of the area. We plan on putting in a small deck area and some overhead shelter for rain protection. When we take the dogs out at night, we would stand out there in our raingear and get soaked. With an overhead shelter at least we will stay a little dryer. The overhead shelter also acts as a shield against the sun for the dogs.  Here is downstate NY it has been in the 90’s all week. Remember to take extra care of all your animals. Some things to do: a kiddy wading pool in the shade provides some relief. Hose them down with a soft spray, never near their faces. Put some ice cubes in their water. If possible, bring them in the house in the air conditioning between 1 & 4 pm. If not possible, make sure their runs or chains are under a tree.  And never, never just leave a bowl of water outside. Your dog can tip it over or it can get very hot. Your dog depends on you for help and relief. Don’t let him down.  And while you are taking care of your canine friend, remember to check in on your elderly neighbors. Many elderly people do not like to use air conditioning. Set up a buddy system that you can call them or they call you at least 1 or 2 times a day “to check in”. I’m sure they will really appreciate knowing someone is looking out for them also.