Although it was quite a warm week, the snow and cold will return in time. Please be very, very careful when clearing snow. Shoveling heavy snow for an hour is more tiring than running at full speed on a treadmill. Every winter, many seemingly healthy people die of heart attacks while shoveling snow. The risk of a heart attack even about an hour after entering. Inhaling cold air sends blood from the internal organs to the skin, which can cause a heart attack. You may feel great working, but stop before you get a little tired or sweaty, and avoid shoveling when it's too cold or windy. The elderly are at particular risk, as are those with other illnesses or those with COVID.
I didn't mention last week that there are ice cubes advertised as "pet friendly". There really is no product that is 100% safe for your pets, whether through ingestion or skin contact, but some are less caustic and less harmful to paws than others. If your dog can tolerate them, dog boots are the best protection for your dog's paws from rock salt and bad weather. Before you spend a fortune on any of these products, make sure they aren't just boxed goods. If the ingredients are mainly sodium chloride (rock salt) or calcium chloride, you can buy them at a much lower price than from special mixes. Some of these other pet products contain propylene glycol, a type of antifreeze, like ethylene glycol. However, ethylene glycol is highly toxic to dogs, while propylene glycol is not. Both are sweet tasting and some dogs prefer one or the other. Be very careful with car antifreeze if you have pets.
