“I’m melting….” That’s my internal thought every time I step out into
the unbearably hot and horribly humid sticky-icky summer days. But at least I can sweat, or “glow” as they
say here in the south, to cool off.
Dogs don’t sweat. Their only cooling
mechanism is to pant, drawing air across those long fat tongues. Only it’s hot
humid air flowing across their tongues so it doesn’t seem as if it would be all
that effective. Which explains why they often resort to Plan B: digging holes
in the dirt deep under the front porch where it is maybe three degrees cooler. It
doesn’t seem as if they have a Plan C.
Melting dogs under porches is why these summer days are known as “The Dog Days of Summer.”
