He's hot! He's on Fi-ah!

My dog loves to be in the car. He'd rather be in the car than be at home alone. So I indulge him, but I worry about him overheating. I obsessively park in the lowest levels of underground garages and reset my digital recording thermometer so I'll know the maximum and minimum temperatures in the car while I'm gone.

A few minutes ago the dog came staggering in the open door to the porch. He came over to greet me, and when I felt his coat, it was so hot I couldn't keep my hand on it for long. Who is this sun lizard, and why does he have a long black coat? Choosing to lie in the heat as long as he can stand it is certainly different than being trapped in a car that's too warm, but maybe my dog is tougher than I am when it comes to heat. In truth, that's not hard.