Eilen illalla arvoin, lähdenkö tänään Tuusulaan koiranäyttelyyn Diisun kanssa, koska oli luvassa todella kuuma päivä. Ei olisi pitänyt mennä. Mutta lähdin kuitenkin, kun ajomatkaakin oli vain viitisentoista minuuttia. Näyttelyssä Diisulla oli lakanalla peitelty häkki, jossa oli rakoja sen verran peitteessä, että tuuli hyvin sisälle häkkiin myös. Mutta missään ei muutoin ollut kunnollista varjoa tarjolla, mihin häkin olisi saanut. Ilmeisesti pelkkä häkin varjostaminen lakanalla ei riittänyt.
Kehässä Diisu oli vähän levoton, teki pari pyrkimystä pois, mutta en tajunnut näitä hälyttäviä merkkejä. Ja kun laitoin sen häkkiin takaisin, oli se levoton taas hetken aikaa. Vettä oli koko ajan tarjolla. Kehässä tuli Eri3 valioluokassa, joten kotiin pääsimme lähtemään heti kehän jälkeen.
Today I showed Diesel in a dog show just 15 minutes drive away from our home. It was a really hot day but I thought it was such a short drive so we'd go. He got Exc3 in champion class.
Unfortunately Diesel suffered a heat stroke in the car on our way home from the show. He started whining and screaming and tried to get out of the car in panic. It was clear he was fighting for his life - he was drooling thick slime and his tongue was thick and he could not pant enough to cool down his body - I will never forget what I saw everytime I looked in the rear mirror while driving on. Luckily I remembered there is a river just 2-3 minutes drive away from where we were at the time. Those minutes seemed to last forever but I only had one bottle of warm water in the car so I knew I could not save him by just pulling over to the roadside.
Diesel is still a little shy when it comes to swimming but now he went right into the water. It helped.
I had done my best to keep him cool: he was in a shaded crate at the show, he had water available all the time, in the car I had a solar shield to protect him from direct sunshine and the car windows were open so that the wind was everwhere inside the car as I was driving, the hair on Diesel's head was all up swirling in the wind. And still he suffered a mild heat stroke - and without being able to find a place to get him to swim I could have lost him.
Now I wonder if his "inner thermostat" is broken. If it is, he is prone to getting a heat stroke easier than normally. All I can do is to follow things and hope for the best, and get a cooling pad for his crate in the car. I really should not have gone to that show.
At home. Alive!
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