It's getting pretty hot outdoors here, as with most regions. But fortunately both my dogs are small or smallish, and they can crawl under the front porch if they want to, where the dirt's cool and they've snuggled out little hollows for themselves. Plus they have a lot of vegetation shade. One thing a vet told me to do long ago in the desert was to also leave out a tub of water in a shady area, because most dogs will (at least allegedly) soak in the cool water if nothing else works.
Especially since we have to be housebound so much during the winter, I don't want to let Molly Maguire and Brigid miss one bit of outdoor time available to them. Also, I prefer passive and non-electrical means of cooling until outside temps start rising into the 90's. Until then the whole-house attic fan does just fine, but at 94 or so I'll turn on the AC and bring the dogs in. That's only for a very short time during the summer here, thank goodness. An average total of 45-50 days. I've got one of the larger portable AC units in case the main one goes out plus plenty of gel-filled cooling pads, and my next acquisition will be a freestanding solar-powered fan in case the electricity ever dies on us. I'd drag the swing set frame under a tree, throw blankets over the frame and wet them down with the hose, then position the fan just where it'd get enough sun to charge up.
We're not risking heat stroke around here any time soon. BTW, folks, if worse ever comes to worse - it's a myth that wearing wet clothes in the heat will cause arthritis. I've done that for years out in the boonies and feel fine. In an emergency situation, I'd still do the same thing.
Also, even though it's pricey, you can buy wearable gear for people and pets that will keep you fairly cool. But for me, that has to wait until after the solar fan.
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I'll tell you the other story another time.
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