Pet Parenting in the Heat

Along with my two children, I am also the pet parent to two creatures. The first is a 3+ year old fluffy white bunny. The second is a small white puppy. 

The bunny is free range during daylight hours and the dog comes and goes in and out as long as someone is home. 

With the recordbreaking heat their survival has been a worry.  I don't want them to become prisoners and so far we have been able to provide them each with relief without crating them in the house. 

Here is what we do- utilizing 4 or 5 milk jugs that were previously "customized" to help in slow watering the trees is the key. 

First, I bring out one of our shower buckets and dump the contents onto our cement patio in the area I know will get the least amount of sun all day. 

Next, I fill the jugs with water, replace the lids, and set them out at the top of the designated area. These jugs have one to 4 small pin holes in their bottoms which allow water to leak out when the lids are loosened. Once they are in place I adjust the lids to allow a tiny bit of water to leak out. On extra hot days I also add some Ice packs, just to be safe. 

This combination, along with plenty of water, seems to do the trick. Both animals enjoy laying on the cool slightly damp cement patio and we are controlling the amount of water used which keeps my anxiety at a minimum. 

I wonder what other people do....