Monday, July 14, 2008

Oscar, Love your blog! You seem so wise for your years. Any tips for how to stay cool during these "dog days" of summer? -- Ruth


Thanks Ruth! Ah, the dog days of summer... I love 'em! Many dogs find that digging a hole in the middle of the driveway, then laying in it, works well. Take my advice: this is a short-term solution. Next thing you know, your owner, carrying six bags of groceries, steps in the hole and twists an ankle. Not a good scene.

Outside, I recommend shade trees and tall grass. Indoors, pull the curtains and blinds over your windows to keep the house cool. Also, fans. For example, in the photo above, Scout the cat stays quite cool in a shady corner of the house. While I also enjoy a cool dip in the river during a summer day, Scout likes the shower. What can I say? Cats are just weird.

Regarding the comment about my wisdom and intellect at such a young age, I will point out that the old adage that dogs age 7 years for each human year may not be entirely on target. Ted Kerasote, author of Merle's Door (great read!), speaks of more recent studies that indicate that the first 2 years of a dog's life are more like 12 human years, with subsequent dog years equating to 4 human years. So this makes me about 17 or 18 years old -- a very wise age, if I do say so myself.

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