While the calendar may say summer is half over, for San Diegans typical summer weather’s warmer temperatures, along with high fire risk, persist well into October and beyond, making it useful to review a few summer safety tips. Remember:  never leave your pets or children — in a closed car, even for the few minutes needed to shop or run an errand. With the sun beating down on its metal frame, temperatures inside a vehicle can rise to dangerous and even fatal levels quickly. Leaving the engine on with the air conditioning running is a bad idea because of safety and theft considerations. In mid-July John Van Zante, spokesman for the Helen Woodward Animal Care Center, ran a demonstration of the heat mounting in a closed vehicle. He parked the center’s van outside with its windows and doors sealed. In just 17 minutes, the temperature rose from 80 to 128 degrees, potentially deadly for innocent pets and children. If you leave pets outside in your yard at all, consider purchasing market umbrellas to provide adequate shade for your pets, especially if you lack shade trees, recommends Lisa Gess, owner of Fetch! Pet Care of San Diego Metro, which offers dog walking and Fiesta Island beach romps to dogs from downtown, Coronado and Pacific Beach. As temperatures rise, for cats, dogs and small animals, be sure to put out extra fresh water, preferably two generous bowls. Change the water once or twice daily to help to prevent your pets’ dehydration. Cats are especially vulnerable to dehydration because many don’t drink enough water, explains Jeanne Zammarchi, owner of Cat Care Extraordinaire in Pacific Beach, which serves the central beach communities plus Hillcrest, Mission Hills and La Jolla. She recommends feeding mainly wet food rather than kibble for its water content. Zammarchi’s own cat, Sage, 14, whom she adopted from a neighbor when the cat was about 7, resists drinking water and tends to become dehydrated. When the temperatures rise she monitors Sage closely and squirts cool water into the side of Sage’s mouth, a little at a time, from a plastic syringe. “The way to tell (if a cat is dehydrated) is to pinch the fur at the nape of the neck. If it stays up you know the cat is dehydrated. The cat will also be very lethargic, with her eyes closed or squinting and she may even be panting,” she says. If the cat is severely dehydrated, she advises, be sure to get the cat to the vet for intravenous fluids. Zammarchi also recommends checking the screens on your windows or doors. An indoor cat and especially a kitten can slip out through a hole in a detached or torn screen. Lacking a fear of heights or sense of distance, a kitten or cat might also tumble or leap off a balcony if not restrained by a sturdy screen. While screens are usually not guaranteed “cat-proof,” many companies offer stronger screening materials more likely to keep cats safe inside. Even indoor cats can get fleas, says Dr. Ann Middleton, veterinarian and owner of the Cheshire Cat Feline Health Center, located at 4680 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. in Clairemont. “They come inside on your shoes,” she explains. Middleton recommends using a flea comb on cats or dosing them monthly with Advantage or Frontline to kill fleas and larvae. Zammarchi notes that flea collars are not only ineffective but can be dangerous or even fatal to cats sensitive to the toxic fumes they emit. Dogs also should be treated for fleas, with modern chemical treatments such as Advantage and Frontline Plus the safest and most effective for both fleas and ticks, although natural treatments such as brewers’ yeast may also work. Gess found that her own dogs became resistant to the topical flea treatments. She turned to Comfortis, a new oral monthly pill available from vets, which she found kills fleas but not ticks. Both cats and dogs should be brushed or combed regularly to remove excess fur from natural shedding. Gess also advises watching for and removing burrs and foxtails, particularly after Fiesta Island romps or off-leash country hikes, because they can get stuck in a dog’s paws and ears.  If your dog has put on a few pounds, it’s important to help him get in shape. Be sure to start slowly with shorter walks before taking him on longer walks or runs. Gess also recommends checking harnesses, collars and leashes for wear and fraying and advises using a snug, professionally-fitted harness rather than a collar while exercising your dog. With fire season fast approaching, make sure you have a safety plan and emergency kit prepared in case you need to evacuate with your pets. Both the ASPCA and Humane Society of the United States offer checklists for disaster preparedness and pet emergency kits on their websites at www.aspca.org and www.humanesociety.org. The federal government’s disaster preparedness website at www.ready.gov also provides useful pet preparedness recommendations. With good planning, preparations and common sense, it’s easy to keep your pets safe and secure no matter the season. For more information, contact: Liss Gess at Fetch! Pet Care of San Diego Metro www.fetchpetcare.com (enter zipcode 92101), (619) 501-3511 Dr. Ann Middleton at Cheshire Cat Feline Health Center www.cheshirecatclinic.com, (858) 483-1573 Jeanne Zammarchi, Cat Care Extraordinaire (858) 581-3494.