# Heat stroke and hunting dogs



## SiouxperDave25 (Oct 6, 2002)

Heat claims a rash of hunting dogs
Associated Press - 10/24/2003

Minnesota pheasant hunters left South Dakota with birds in their bags after last weekend's opener, but many also returned home without their beloved dogs that died of heatstroke as temperatures rose into the 80s.

The animals' heavy coats and their inability to readily dispel body heat, combined with the high temperatures in grasslands and corn fields, proved deadly. Abundant pheasants also had the dogs working hard.

"I was afraid we would have a rash of these cases, and I tried to warn hunters to keep their dogs' time in the field very short," said Dr. Woody Franklin of Brookings (S.D.) Animal Clinic, where one Labrador retriever from Minnesota died.

With the season open only 45 minutes, a springer spaniel was carried by its owner into Dr. Eric Heath's office in Winner, S.D. The dog's temperature was 110 degrees _ about 8.5 degrees above normal.

"Actually, the dog's temperature might have been higher than 110. But that's as far as my thermometer goes," Heath said. The dog was euthanized. Heath's clinic, one of three in the Winner area, treated 12 dogs for heatstroke last weekend. Four of them died.

"The problem," said Dr. Sam Lukens, a Sioux Falls, S.D., veterinarian, "is that many of these dogs are overweight and out of shape. And even if they're not, for every mile a hunter walks, their dog might run three miles. That, combined with the higher temperatures in tall grass and corn, can mean trouble."

A yellow Labrador named Jack, who belongs to Dr. Phifer Nicholson of Plymouth, Minn., was one of the dogs felled by heatstroke. The 3-year-old collapsed Sunday near Aberdeen, S.D., after only 30 minutes in the field.

"Suddenly he began panting and staggered and fell," said Nicholson. "His tongue turned a shade of purple and blue I'll never forget. My initial reaction was to run him to water, but when I picked him up he was so limp he couldn't breathe."

To help his Labrador breathe, Nicholson, a vascular surgeon, elevated its lower jaw. Soon thereafter, ice from his hunting party's coolers was laid on the dog, and water poured over him _ but to no avail.

"Then we drove about seven minutes to a farmhouse, and during that time Jack stopped breathing once," Nicholson said.

At the farm, Nicholson laid his dog in the shade and cooled him for about 10 minutes with a water hose before the animal's tongue regained color.

"He recovered enough to stand and drink," Nicholson said.

On Monday, Jack wouldn't eat and was tired but drank and appeared healthy. Tuesday morning, however, he couldn't stand and his temperature was 104.1 and rising.

At the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center, he was resuscitated with the help of intravenous fluids, including steroids and antibiotics. The dog was back home Thursday in Plymouth.

The danger heatstroke poses to dogs extends beyond an animal's initial collapse, veterinarians said.

"The after-care is very critical," said Dr. Jill Butkovich of Safe Haven Small Animal Hospital in Mitchell, S.D., where eight dogs were treated last weekend for heatstroke. Two of them died.

"Nearly 100 percent of these dogs experience a variety of problems the following day, because nearly every organ of the body is affected," he said.

The afflictions include kidney failure, permanent blindness and mental abnormalities, she said.


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