How Heatstroke Changed My Life Forever

As I have gotten older I realize how events that occur in your younger, formative, years can have an adverse affect on your thoughts and behaviors as you age. My story is not an uncommon one but it is one that I have found very few people ever talk about. 

When I was younger we lived in a small college town, Brockport, New York, located just outside of Rochester. We lived in the country which was great for our dogs as they got to roam freely without any worries. My first Pug was a fawn colored male named Goober and he was my best buddy. We went every where together. Goober moved about as fast as his name would indicate and every morning we would let him out the front door and he would mosey across the front yard, cross the road and do his business in the field across the road from our house and mosey on back. One morning while I was at school Goober was crossing the road like he always did when a car hit and killed him instantly. My Dad said the car had to have been traveling at a speed over 100 miles an hour and of course the driver never stopped. It took me a few years but I eventually adopted a new baby Pug that I named Sammy. Sammy was much different than Goober. He was excited and playful all of the time and we had the best time. I took him every where with me and all of my friends loved him. I taught him how to drink water out of a straw which was pretty cool!

My parents decided to take a summer vacation trip down to Florida to see my brother. Since I wanted to take Sammy with me, we decided to drive. So we packed and loaded my Mom's Mustang convertible and headed down to the sunny tropical land of Disney World. Did I mention that the Mustang did not have air conditioning? Which was not uncommon being from upstate New York. About 20 miles from St. Petersburg, Virginia - Sammy started panting. Now anyone who has owned a Pug knows that panting is very common for this breed. However I noticed that he was panting much more than usual. Both my parents knew something was wrong and so did I. We stopped and put Sammy in the shade and tried to give him water, even pouring water over his little body. We finally came to a gas station and asked for directions to the nearest vet clinic. This was before cell phones and GPS units so getting help was not as easy as it is today. After racing to the vets which was about 15 miles away we rushed in the front door, me carrying Sammy in my arms. The vet did everything he could but unfortunately it was too late. My 16 year old body held my beloved Sammy while he passed away from a horrible heatstroke. I cried for weeks and still cry to this day. We had no idea about heatstroke and what it can do to a dog. I was angry at my parents and myself. It wasn't until I grew older, much older, that I realized that while it was our fault that Sammy died that way, we did not have the knowledge and information that would have prevented this from happening. Over the years several people have told me that it should have been common sense for us to not take a dog to Florida in the summer with no air conditioning, well maybe it should have, but it wasn't.

I now am the proud Momma of a Black female Pug named Sophia (Sophie Tucker to Dr. Rick). She is my baby, even though she will be 15 years old this year. We share the same birthday and I swear the same behaviors and characteristics. I am sensitive to drugs, she is sensitive to drugs. She likes to eat, I like to eat. And on and on it goes. There is a part of me that feels really bad for Sophia and for Dr. Rick because every time Sophia pants, coughs, moves, or looks at me in any way that I think is "uncommon" I am rushing her to Dr. Rick or calling him at all hours. Yes I am a hysterical Momma, I admit it freely, but I am still trying to find that "common sense" that I did not possess when my Sammy died of heatstroke. Knowledge and education is the key. If you have the information you need than you can have the "common sense" to know when a dog is suffering from heatstroke or just excited to see you.

Be sure to read the article on Summer Heat so you too can have the knowledge and information on how to protect your pets against the Florida heat.