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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (July 18, 2018)
30 Wednesday, July 18, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon BIKE SAFETY: Cyclists have to follow rules of the road Continued from page 3 Safe Kids Worldwide offers the following tips for riding safely: 1. Wear a properly fitted helmet. It is the best way to prevent head injuries and death. 2. Ride on the sidewalk when you can. If not, ride in the same direction as traffic as far on the right-hand side as possible. 3. Use hand signals and follow the rules of the road. Be predictable by making sure you ride in a straight line and don’t swerve between cars. 4. Wear bright colors and use lights, especially when riding at night and in the morning. Reflectors on your clothes and bike will help you be seen. 5. Ride with your chil- dren. Stick together until you are comfortable that your kids are ready to ride on their own. Co-sponsors of the event include: Black Butte Ranch Police Department, Sisters Park & Recreation District, Blazin Saddles, Sisters Family Access Network (FAN), Deschutes County Sheriff ’s Office, Oregon Department of Transportation and the Kiwanis Club of Sisters. For more information contact the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Department at 541-549-0771. Paw Prints Jodi Schneider McNamee Columnist Heat can be deadly for your pets Summer is here and it is a great time for walking and playing in the sunshine with Rover. But your furry friend has a much harder time keep- ing cool than you, especially when temperatures are on the rise! Be mindful of the heat and keep your dog cool to protect him from heat-related illness and injury. Heatstroke in dogs is a potential killer that can be easy to avoid. Heatstroke or exhaustion can occur very quickly for your pooch as he only has the ability to sweat through the pads of his feet. And the way Rover expels heat is through panting. Please remember that your furry friend doesn’t realize that he will overheat while playing fetch in the park on a hot day; he won’t know when he is overheated until it is too late. It’s up to you as a responsible pet par- ent to watch for heat stress and dehydration in your dog, know when it’s time to take a break, to give him a drink, and rest in the shade for a while. The best time to exercise your furry friend in the sum- mer heat is early in the morn- ing or later in the evening. Since these are the cooler parts of the day, this will make the walk more comfort- able for both you and Rover. Different dogs have dif- ferent needs when battling the heat. Keep in mind that dogs with darker coats absorb more heat than lighter coats. Also, overweight dogs, very young or older dogs are at a higher risk for dehydration. Carry a bottle of water when going on a walk with your furry friend. Get creative and find innovative ways to cool Rover down. Find a spot in the shade and set up a kiddie pool. Lay down a wet towel for your dog to lie on or bring him to Fir Street Park in Sisters and let him run through the sprinklers. And when the mercury rises, your furry friends are also at risk for heatstroke or death when their pet parents make the mistake of leaving them in a parked car. Hot car deaths are a con- sistent problem. Every year, hundreds of dogs suffer and die when their pet parents make the mistake of leaving them in a parked car — even for “just a minute” — while they run an errand. Cool outside doesn’t mean cool in the car. It doesn’t have to be that warm out- side for a car to become dan- gerously hot inside. When it’s 72 degrees outside, the temperature inside your car can heat up to 116 degrees Oregonians read their local newspapers! 81.8% report 2+ people inside/outside of their home read their copy of the local newspaper. These results, published 3-12-18, combine answers from 308 Oregon adults, ages 18+ who participated in a Pulse Marketing Survey. Information provided Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. within an hour. When it’s 80 degrees outside, the tempera- ture inside your car can heat up to 99 degrees within 10 minutes. Every year across the nation, thousands of pets fall victim to or die from hot- weather-related conditions due to the ignorance or poor judgment by a pet parent. Animals can sustain brain damage or even die in as little as 15 minutes. Staying cool is extra tough for dogs because they can only reduce their internal temperature by panting and sweating through their paw pads. How can you prevent your furry friend from suffer- ing in a hot car? Do not take pets with you to run errands. Rover may enjoy a fun car ride, but leaving him in the car while you go into the store for even 10 minutes on a hot day could turn deadly. The best hope for eliminating this tragic occurrence is to educate friends, family and anyone you come in contact with about leaving dogs in hot cars. No animal deserves to suffer trapped in the swelter- ing heat of a big metal oven on wheels with no way to save himself; this is animal cruelty. A new law that passed last summer gives individuals explicit permission to save an animal or child trapped in a hot car. The Oregon Senate passed House Bill 2732 that exempts people from crimi- nal or civil liability if they break into a car to rescue a pet or a child. The Oregon Humane Society helped push the new law through the legislature. “It gives people the abil- ity to intervene on behalf of children and animals when they’re most at risk,” said Oregon Humane Society President and CEO Sharon Harmon. According to the law, before a Good Samaritan chooses to break a car win- dow to save an animal or child locked in a hot car, they would have to contact law enforcement or emergency services. They are also required to “use no more force than is necessary to enter the vehi- cle and remove the child or animal.” And they have to stay with the child or animal safely nearby the vehicle until first-responders and police arrive or the owner of the car returns. A Partnership Beyond Your Expectations Stop by and visit with Tiana Van Landuyt & Shelley Marsh. 220 S. Pine St., Ste. 102 | 541-548-9180
