Animal activists offer pet care reminders for summer

With temperatures soaring in the Las Vegas Valley, animal rights activists remind pet owners to protect their four-legged friends from the heat.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, PETA, issued an "urgent heat-wave animal advisory" Wednesday. It offered these tips for protecting dogs:

• Keep dogs inside. Unlike humans, dogs can only sweat through their footpads and cool themselves by panting. Soaring temperatures can cause heat stress and be physically damaging or fatal.

• Provide adequate water and shade. If dogs must be left outside, they should be supplied with ample water and shade. The shifting sun needs to be taken into account.

• Walk animals, don't run with them. In hot weather, never exercise dogs by cycling while they try to keep up. They can quickly become severely overheated.

• Never leave a dog in a parked car in warm weather, even for short periods with the windows slightly open.

• Avoid hot pavement. Dogs' footpads easily burn on heated asphalt, pavement and sand.

• Never transport dogs in the bed of a truck. Animals can catapult out of the truck bed during a sudden stop or choke if they jump out while tied down.

For more information, go to www.helpinganimals.com