"Walkies" Update

This is a follow-up on my last post about taking care of your pets in this hot, humid summer weather.  As you know, since Grandpa retired, we have been taking lots of walks and usually take Sparkles along with us.  She loves her "walkies" and like Grandpa and myself, she could stand to lose a little weight.

We usually like to take 2-3 walks a day and even in this hot weather we have been having lately, we like to get in at least one or two and maybe just around the short block.  Grandpa can take the heat from working outside construction for over 40 years.  Me and Sparkles not so much.  I need to take my inhaler along (asthma) and have had to use it in the hot, heavy air once or twice.  And Sparkles does something that is quite funny to watch in this hot weather.  As we are walking down the sidewalk, she will speed up if we are in a sunny spot and then slow way down when we get to a shady spot (from a tree).  I didn't notice it until Grandpa pointed it out to me.  Now, I know some PEOPLE who are not smart enough to get out of the sun when they have had too much.....but our dog knows!  It's especially funny when we get to our side of the block and we let her off her leash.  She will sprint through the sunny spots and come to a crawl through the shade. So, we never have to worry about her getting too far ahead of us.  And when we get to our house, she usually will lay flat on her tummy in the cool grass under the tree of our neighbor and wait for us if she is a little ahead.  All in all, it is quite humerous to watch and it's quite obvious that Sparkles is no dummy!!