Too Much Heat!

Poor Sammy. This is his first experience with Nebraska summer. We brought him home in August of last year, so he should have, but the last year has been awkward weather. We brought him home the hottest day of the summer last year. But he came home in the evening. Since the whole world was new to him, he got tired very easily, and so walking around our building exhausted him! We also spent alot of time on the stairs....trying to beat them! All in all, we didn't get much of the Nebraska heat. It turned to Fall fast, and by the time he was able to do the long walks, it was Fall weather. Winter came and blasted us, of which he was just fine. Our Spring kind of tip toed it's way in. And Sammy has loved it. He has loved all the stuff we have been able to do, camping, long walks, jogs, dogpark trips ALL the time, sittin on our patio, playing with the kids that live in the building, ..etc. But it has really toggled with a couple of really nice days squished in between cold days where we still have to wear sweatshirts and/or jackets and even coats. All of which, Sammy handles in stride.
Suddenly out of nowhere the infamous humidity has arrived! We have been toggling the 90 degree temperature line for the past 3 days with at least 70 percent humidity. Literally 5 days ago, the high was in the lower 60's and our heater set at 58 degrees at night clicked on at night. Now our lows at night are in the mid 70's. At night our apartment is still around 80 while we sleep, never quite cools down at night.
The first day of this, it was 87 as a high with an annoying amount of humidity that makes pants impossible to get on, hair impossible to dry after a shower and eye makeup a sticky pad for your eyelid/eyelashes when you blink. We are trying to conserve as much money as possible, and we didn't turn on our air conditioner. Instead we don't really use the oven or stove, keep all the lights off, and spend as mcuh time in the shade and breeze as possible. Sammy just looked miserable and confused. He is constantly trying to readjust and find a cool, comfortable way to lay down. He just slept the first day away, uncomfortable. By the end of the day, he knew the exact spot to get the most breeze between the window and fans.
The next day, he was a little better. And we took a drive to Indian Cave State Park for the afternoon. It was a 2 hour drive each way and Sammy got to enjoy the air conditioning in the car for that. That invovled my lap between the two vents! We got out and played on the playground once. Saw old St. Devion and the couple of buildings that remain. We took Sammy to the boat ramp onto the Missouri River and let him put his toes in, then he rolled in the mud. Figures. We saw the cave and took a little walk around that area. Apparently pets are not allowed on the hikes, which was a major disappointment and we both felt quite misled on that front. But we still had a good day outside for the most part. And Sammy seemed to handle it quite well. (I still have to get our couple of pictures uploaded!) We stopped for an ice cream cone in Auburn, and Sammy was quite excited about that.
So yesterday he woke up with the energy of a thousand corgis! Just busting with energy. Since it was still early, and still in the 70's I thought maybe we should take him to the dogpark for a quite trip. Sammy was quite excited. We got there and all the dogs we in the all dog park. So that's where we went. He bounded from dog to dog saying his hellos. Then he met a 9 month siberian husky. The biggest darn husky I have EVER SEEN! Seriously. Long, long, thick fur. Stood with his back at my hip. Skull at least twice the size of Sammy's. Sammy and him had a good time. Apparently he likes the little dogs, and Sammy seems to always make friends with the biggest dog we we go to the all dog park. They wrestled, and the owner was quite impressed with how well he holds his own. One basset hound was quite jealous, wanted Sammy for himself, and followed them barking at them! After about 10 minutes, Sammy began seeking out shade. Behind people, under the picnic table and under the tree. But only for a few seconds at a time, he is too ADD still to stay put. A dog would come by, and he would decide "MUST CHASE. MUST PLAY."
Then out of nowhere Sammy stopped and projectile vomitted! I didn't even know they could projectile vomit. We ran over to get him, and he vomitted 2 more times. He had decided to skip his breakfast so luckily is was just clear liquid. I got our water bowl and washed it down. He didn't feel like walking or anything and snuggled up to my leg making it impossible to walk. It's very easy to tell when something is wrong with Sammy, he clings to me like a toddler to their Mom. He stayed right in between Erik and I on the walk back and stepped only because my leg moved. We got him in the car and put the air conditioning right on him. 3 of the vents all angled right to him. We got him home and I carried him in and put him on the bed. Ceiling fan on, tower fan right on him and we turned on the air conditioning for him. He didn't seem to mind. Just kind of laying down with his head in the air, but eyes closed. I got out a washcloth, got it wet with cold water and washed down his face and tried to get the slobber and dirt off his back. This seemed to make him quite happy. After a couple minutes, I brought him a bowl of water from the refridgerator and he got to drink in bed. After another 10 minutes, I brought in his breakfast and he got to eat in bed! He napped the rest of the morning and first part of the afternoon in bed. We stayed in bed with him.
Overall, we was fairly lazy the rest of the day. That evening we turned the air conditioner back off, and enjoyed the evening on our patio, in the shade, but in the breeze! He slept the whole night through, right in front of the fan. He has made a full recovery! I still can't believe what just 15 minutes at the dogpark did! He plays just so hard, with all he has then gobbles up water so fast. Hopefully his doggie senses will kick in sometime soon to keep a steady flow of water in his system! Happy Summer. Everyone will be happy to know, he woke up with the energy of 998 corgis this morning. Right now he playing with his squirrel, shoving it under the couch and begging for me to pull it back out for him, just to shove it back under. He has eaten his breakfast this morning and said hello to our neighbor dog and his dogwalker. But NO DOGPARK today! (or jogs.) It's still super hot and humid!