LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It's a beautiful Friday in Southern Nevada, but with triple digit temps right around the corner, Northwest Las Vegas locals are already looking ahead to staying safe in the heat — that includes keeping their pets safe, too.
I caught up with people walking their dogs at Bunker Family Park on Friday afternoon, who told me protecting their furry friends from the heat is top of mind.
"I usually have a bag that I carry when it's hot," Sonia Prusinski told me, while she was on a walk with her dog, Bailey. "It has water and a bowl, and I usually make sure she has her shoes on when it's really hot."
WATCH | Pet mortician warns of rising heat-related pet deaths as summer approaches
Unfortunately though, that's not always the case.
In fact, I had a local pet mortician here in the Northwest Valley reach out to me to tell me he's already seeing a big spike in pet deaths this year due to extreme heat, and he wanted to get the word out.
Donato Clay owns Perpetual Memories, a pet cremation business at Rancho and Gowan.
"We help families in saying goodbye to their loved ones as they cross the rainbow bridge, but we never want to see a pet before their time," Donato told me in an interview on Friday. "Whenever you see someone who comes in here with an additional feeling of guilt on top of their grief, it's heartbreaking."
Donato tells me they usually see the spike in heat deaths in dogs and cats when they're left outside without proper shade and water, and usually in a few dog breeds: French bulldogs, German shepherds and sometimes huskies.
"We are talking minutes before a pet can be in crisis due to the heat, so it's very important to be hyper vigilant," he said.
Also, Donato says you need to keep a close eye on your pet around pools.
"Pools create a hazard because pets are looking at a pool as a water source when they're in heat crisis," he told me. "So, we also see a higher level of accidental drownings during the summer."
Above everything, Donato says — if you can — keep your pet indoors during the summer, even at night when we can still see extremely warm temperatures.
However, if you start to notice your furry friend in heat crisis, there are a couple things you can do.
"Dogs don't have sweat glands, which is why they pant to cool themselves — if you can, place a cool towel around them while also providing them room temperature water," Donato said. "Do not give them ice water — you're going to create a shock to their bodies, that they more than likely won't be able to handle."
Even though we're not seeing scorching temperatures right now, Donato and folks at Bunker Park tell me preparing now could prevent a tragedy later this summer.
"Start changing your habits now," Donato said. "Start putting out more water, larger bowls or two bowls if you can."
"And plenty of shade," local Sonia Prusinski said. "Maybe give them a little house if they're going to be out there for a long time."
If there's something going on here in the Northwest Valley that you think I should know about, let me know, just like Donato did: Guy.Tannenbaum@KTNV.com.
For more information about Perpetual Memories, visit their website by clicking here.
