Hey Howdy Hey: This summer, take care of your pets

With the 4th of July just around the corner, here are a few important tips to keep your pets safe.

Keep your pets secured during fireworks, inside your home.

Give them a safe place to hide like a comfortable room or a dog crate.

Mask the noise of the fireworks by turning up the TV or radio.

Make sure their tags are current, just in case they do get out

Skip the celebration and stay home with them. Sometimes your presence makes all the difference.

I have known a few people each year who have lost their dogs during the 4th of July. They just take off and they never see them again. So, it is very important to keep them inside.

Oftentimes, when you see me driving around in my little pickup or van, I am rarely alone. I most always have my copilot Trooper with me. I have had him now for over ten years. I believe I got him when he was about two years old. He was a rescue from up in Browning.

The story I got was people had walked away from a shelter up there, leaving the animals to die. Trooper and another dog were the only survivors. I saw pictures of Trooper when they first got him, he was about 20 pounds, skin and bones. His healthy weight is around 70 pounds, which is where he normally is, but winter fattened up both of us a bit.

We have been going for walks though, trying to shed a few pounds. As much as I love to always have Trooper with me, sometimes he has to stay home in the summer when it starts to heat up.

Here are a few important tips to remember. When it is 70 degrees outside, in just 10 minutes the inside of a car heats up to 89 degrees, and in 30 minutes, it's 104 degrees. When it is 80 outside, in 10 minutes, its 99 in the car, 114 in 30 minutes. When its 90 outside, in 10 minutes 109, and 124, and so on.

It doesn't help much to leave them in the car with windows down or in shade. Dogs that are older and dogs with heavy dark coats are at a higher risk than others.

So, if you see a dog in a hot car this summer, which is here now, try to locate the owner if you see the dog panting. If you can't find the owner, call 911 and stay with the car until help arrives. My Trooper means the world to me, just as your pets do to you. It is especially important to keep them healthy and safe no matter the time of year, but if it is getting hot out, you have to take extra precautions.

Thank you and God Bless

Jim and Trooper Oly