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I almost lost her over something so stupid and I can't take it back. We pulled into the dog park this afternoon like we do every weekend and I swear I didn't see it happening. One minute my girl was fine and the next she was panting so hard her whole body was shaking. I immediately reached for my water bottle but it wasn’t enough. My husband had to sprint to the gas station down the road while I just sat there with her, totally useless, trying to keep her in the shade. I felt so bad. I always make sure to check the temperature before every single walk, out of fear of this exact thing happening. It was 73 degrees that day. There was a breeze, I genuinely thought it'd be a nice afternoon walk for her. Thank god she's okay now. I've checked her a hundred times since we got home from the vet, she's not in any pain, she's lying right next to me. But I can't let it go. As we were leaving, a man was walking out the gate the same time we were. I said sorry because I figured he saw the whole thing, and he looked right at me and goes, "Some people shouldn't have dogs." I just kind of laughed. I didn't know what to say. It caught me so off guard it didn't even register until we were already in the car. I've been lying in bed holding her for the last hour and his words keep going around in my head and I can't make them stop. Every time I think about it my stomach actually turns. I keep beating myself up. I’ve been crazy searcing on Google for the past hour. One tab led to another. Can dogs die from overheating. How hot is too hot. What are the signs. How long does it take. And then I found it: dogs cool themselves almost entirely by panting, and when it's humid, the panting just… stops working. I texted my vet that night. I've been taking Lily to the same clinic since she was a puppy and I had the after-hours number. I felt stupid doing it at midnight but I couldn't help it. She wrote back fast. She said yeah, it's real, and it's more common than people think. She said dogs basically only cool down by panting, and when it's humid the panting can't do anything because the air's already too wet. I had no idea. I genuinely thought hot was hot and a 73 degree day was nothing. She said dogs won't tell you they're in trouble until they already are. They want to keep up with us. They push themselves past the point they should stop because they trust us to know better. She said the main thing now is just making sure Lily can cool herself down whenever she needs to. That dogs already do it on their own, it's why they go lie on the kitchen tile, why they dig down to the cold dirt outside. They're always trying to. They just don't always have something that works. But the thing is, I've been trying to keep her cool her whole life. I just never had anything that worked. A gel mat that leaked everywhere. A Costco pillow she wouldn't go near. I was honestly expecting my vet to tell me there was nothing. She said no. The problem is most of them are gel, they leak, and if the dog chews one open the inside can make them sick! She told me to get a fabric one instead and sent me the exact one she uses on her own patients. I ordered it before I got out of bed. I never want to sit in a parking lot watching her shake like that again. Never. Since most of the ones out there are gel, and I don't want anyone's dog getting hurt, I'm going to link the one my vet recommended below. I've gotten up twice now to check she's still breathing. Watched her stomach go up and down until I believed it. She's my baby girl. She's my whole world. The thought that I let this happen to her, that I'm the reason she got that scared, is eating me alive. 💔 I just wanted to put this out there so people are aware and don't make the same mistake. I'm not looking for any pity and if anyone wants to roast me that's fine.