Hi everyone -- MiskaMoo here.

I want to talk with you about keeping your pets cool in the summer. Besides food and stuff (every pet wants food), you need to make sure, while it is so hot, to keep your pet well supplied with water.

Unlike humans, who when you get thirsty can go to the sink and turn on the water to get a drink, or go to the fridge and get a nice cold soda, pets depend on you to give them water and help them cool off. Most of us animals have a fur coat we are stuck with even in the summer months. Believe me when I tell you it can get very hot. Imagine wearing your winter coat, hat, boots and gloves when it is 90 degrees outside!

If your pet is outside be sure that it has more than enough water. Find a REALLY large bowl and keep it full of water every day. Be sure it sits solidly on the ground, so your pet cannot knock it over. Make sure there is water in the bowl all day, and refresh it if it gets cloudy or if the water level gets low.

You might also want to give your pet a "splash pond" or a small kiddie pool -- of hard plastic -- where it can get wet during the day if it needs to cool off. If you look at the picture there is Maya as a puppy, cooling off in a kiddie pool. (Make sure your pet cannot chew pieces off the kiddie pool and eat them. Plastic is bad for pets to eat!)

Be sure there is shade in the area all day. Don't forget, as the sun moves across the sky, the shade on the ground moves also. Have a shelter that your pet can get under in order to get out of the sun. Remember, just like humans, animals can get sunburned.

The best advice I can give you is that your pet depends on you to treat it just the way you treat yourself. So be good to yourself and your pet.