We’ve havin’ a heatwave… an atypical tropical heatwave… And mama has been worried about my ability to keep cool in the face of extreme temperatures (well, extreme for Portland that is). So a few days ago, she spent almost an hour in the REI store picking out a new cooling vest for me. First she went online, did lots of research, and even emailed a few companies to ask about their products. As I am the King of Terriers, not just any vest would do. Going to REI was a pretty involved thing, as after deciding that she’d invest in one picking out the correct size was a challenge and took her the better part of an hour. It turns out that since I’m right on the cusp between Medium and Large, she wasn’t sure which was going to provide the right amount of protection against the evil sun and heat without being uncomfy.
We went with the Large and mama is very pleased with the way it fits! I don’t have any issues putting things on over my head, and then it just clips on both sides of my shoulders. A snap to put on. The thing that mama liked about it the most was that this vest works with just water – there is no freezing of inserts and no possibility of anything hurting me – and after the initial soaking you can reactivate the cooling powers by just pouring more water over it. Perfect.
And yes, it seems to work! This covered my entire back – which, being black fuzz, gets very hot in the sun – and the coolness of the vest keeps my skin cool. Most importantly to me, this vest doesn’t limit my ability to do some of my favorite things, like trampling plants…
Going for long walkies…
Finding interesting things to add to the “Keep Portland Weird” file…
And of course, peeing.
The vest is from Ruff Wear – it’s their Swamp Cooler vest. It works well with my deep, manly, muscle-y chest, is easy to use, and most importantly, IT WORKS. I was definitely more comfortable in the 90+ degree heat with this on, and during our hour-long walk mama poured a cup of water over me two times for added refreshment (it’s SO GREAT to not have her pour water directly on me).
And see? It’s actually quite dashing on me. And I can wear my favorite harness over it.
Of course we still take it easy on our walkies – mama still has that broken toe and it is going to be 90+ for the next few days – but now I don’t feel the need to plop down in the middle of the walkie because I’m too hot. I can go back to plopping down for more important things…
Like eating sticks, of course.
Love,
Bogart
