How fast the summer is going by. It's been an easy summer thus far for my dogs, but then we aren't quite into the real dog days of summer yet. We may escape to Tahoe again if it gets too unbearable in the valley. I dread going into August with an old dog like Bubba. Sacramento is not an ideal city for bassets or other heat intolerant breeds. We've lost more than one old dog in the month of August. Like all the bassets I've ever had, he doesn't do well in the heat. Peaches does even worse with her predominantly black coat. She overheats very easily. Having lost our first basset to gastric bloat, we're careful not to exercise our dogs when it's too warm out, but they can get awfully demanding and seem to be able to tell time better than we can. They instinctively know when it's past walkies time. If we take them to the park or school nearby where there's lots of shade, it's not too bad. Granite Dog Park has no shade at all, for people or pets. With all the fuss about getting an off-leash area designated along the American River, the pooch police are really on the prowl now at local parks. Tomorrow we're going to have a picnic at the park, if it's not too hot. Peaches loves to lie on the grass (and eat it), so I promised her we'll have our own basset hound picnic.