Dogs in hot weather

I am so glad the hot weather has gone! We've had the evap cooler going almost non-stop for a week and a half and I'm sick of it.

Our dogs don't seem to have minded - they've been inside where it's cool almost no-stop too. They flake out on the tiles, or on the carpet under the outlets and only get up if they absolutely have to.

I've heard some terrible stories about dogs left outside and people coming home to dead or dying canine friends. I don't know how I'd live with the guilt if that happened to me. Well, I do have some idea about how I'd feel. We've had some tragic losses in our fish pond in the last week. Things just got too hot for some of our goldfish.

I've put big blocks of ice in the pond on a couple of days, and sprayed cold water in the pond to help the fish cool down. Our fish numbers have plummeted to only three, and I do feel some guilt about that.

I care about the fish, but I don't love them like I love the dogs. I like the fish, but I don't feel fish are people, like dogs are. Dogs have their own character, and they are friends and family members.