By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Keep an eye on your pets during this heat wave.
The National Weather Service expects the Midland Empire to remain under this heat warning we have experienced all week until late this evening. The high today throughout northwest Missouri, northeast Kansas, southeast Nebraska, and southwest Iowa will climb to nearly 100 with a heat index expected to reach at least 108.
Melanie Barnes with Friends of the St. Joseph Animal Shelter says the shelter nearly witnessed a tragedy when someone left a dog in a crate at the shelter’s front door earlier this week.
“If a volunteer hadn’t been going there early to get the dogs out, I don’t know, I mean that dog very easily could have overheated,” Barnes tells host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline.
Barnes suggests a little common sense goes a long way during extremely hot weather.
“This heat is ridiculous. I mean it’s absolutely ridiculous,” Barnes says. “If you don’t want to be outside, then they don’t want to be outside. Now, I’m not saying every pet needs to be in an air conditioned, 68-degree building, but they need to have precautions in place to keep them safe; endless supplies to water.”
Barnes says pets can make it through this heat if their owners just provide the basics.
“Shade; obviously we know temps go down in the shade and the ability to move around and have air to them, because they have to be able to cool down themselves,” Barnes says. “Pets can acclimate. There are pets outside right now. Obviously, large animals are outside, but access to water and shade are critical.”
This heat wave is expected to come to an end late this evening.
The National Weather Service expects an overnight low of 72 degrees with a chance of showers and thunderstorms that extends into Saturday. The high Saturday is expected to be 83, with sunny skies and a high of 83 forecast for Sunday.