Ask A Baltimore Expert: How To Keep Your Pet Cool This Summer

Krystl Dontell-Sasser is the General Manager of SoBo Dog Daycare & Spa. As a child Dontell-Sasser helped her mother foster and rehabilitate dogs that were severely abused. Dontell-Sasser said she feels like she understands dogs more than people. "I was raised around dogs my whole life. Ever since I was a little girl, I always dreamed of being a veterinarian," Dontell-Sasser said. When she is not around animals, she said she feels that a piece of her is missing. "I became interested in working at a dog daycare because it's not every day someone can say, 'Yeah, I get paid to play with dogs all day.' Working in a dog daycare is a dream job for anyone who loves animals," Dontell-Sasser said.

Krystl Dontell-Sasser
SoBo Dog Daycare & Spa
1624 Beason St.
Locust Point, MD 21230
(410) 539-7626
sobodogcare.com

Dontell-Sasser started her career at SoBo Dog Daycare & Spa as a Dog Daycare Attendant in 2011. She was quickly promoted to Assistant Manager and is now General Manager. While Dontell-Sasser said she would love to open her own dog daycare some day, she loves working at SobBo Dog Daycare & Spa. The owner, Bill Link, started the dog daycare and spa business back in 2009. Dontell-Sasser said at SoBo, dogs and their owners get top-of-the-line quality care, highly trained staff, and most importantly, each employee cares for every single dog as if they were our own. SoBo Dog Daycare & Spa has hundreds of clients who use SoBo for all their daycare or boarding needs.

Air Conditioning 

There's nothing more refreshing and relaxing than sitting down in the nice cold air conditioning after running around and getting hot and sweaty. Dogs only sweat through their glands in their feet only a small amount. Dontell-Sasser said the only other defense their body has is panting. Air conditioning is one of the quickest ways to cool a dog or cat down. Air conditioning is a guaranteed way to keep your pet cool on hot days.

Go For A Dip In A Pool

SoBo Dog Daycare & Spa fills baby pools with water for dogs to play and keep cool. Dontell-Sasser said baby pools should be emptied and refilled every 30 to 45 minutes to keep the water clean and cold. On really hot days, staff drop ice cubes in to the baby pools. She said many dogs love to chases ice cubes. Cooling off in baby pools helps keep the dogs cool while they are playing outside and keeps them from over heating.

Tile Floors Keep Pets Cool

Dontell-Sasser said the English Bulldogs at SoBo Dog Daycare & Spa love the tile floors. There are certain breeds of dogs that do not do well in heat particularly pugs, bulldogs and elderly dogs. She suggests that one of the best ways to keep a dog cool if it is warm inside the building is having the dog lay on the tile floors. Lying on a cool tile floor keeps their body heat down while they pant. On really hot days, all dogs are kept inside for health reasons. She said when the air conditioning is on, the tile floors get super cold and help the dogs stay happy, healthy and relaxed in a cool climate.

Related: Ask An Expert: Fashion Forward Thinking For The Season In Baltimore

Water

Just like any living creature, water is the key essential to keeping cool. Drink lots of water. Whether dogs drink it or play in it. Water keeps pets hydrated and can keep an animal's body heat from rising too high. Overheating can lead to heat exhaustion for pets. Dogs and cats must always have water at all times to avoid potentially fatal heat hazards.

Keeps Pets In The Shade

"It is impossible to keep cool on a day where it is 85 degrees outside and not a cloud in the sky if you do not have some sort of shade to protect you," Dontell-Sasser said. Pets need shade. An umbrella, awning, or canopy can make your pet feel 15 degrees cooler. Dogs and cats can suffer from heat exhaustion very quickly if they do not have some sort of shade in the summer time. Pets can only pant to keep themselves cool.

Related: Best Dog Runs In Baltimore

Jill Berry @MusingsfromMe is a writer who stays at home or a SAHM who writes it depends on the day and her mood. While playing a writer on the internet, Jill has the gray hair AND blogposts from raising a kid, a preteen, and a teen. When not blogging at Musings from Me, Jill seizes family time whenever she can dinner as a family, movie night, marathon family game sessions, traveling you name it she wants to do it.