10:42 PM CDT on Sunday, June 18, 2006

By BOB GREENE / WFAA-TV

As temperatures begin to heat up, health risks are abound for not only humans, but their pets as well.

Veterinarians say they have seen more cases of canine stroke and warn that owners may not even know their dogs have the symptoms.

Jeny Tobias said she considers herself a good pet parent.

"Anybody who has dogs, or any animal that you really love, they're like your child," she said.

However, she said she was surprised to learn in mid-June that her pit bull puppy, Cocoa, suffered a heat stroke while out on a walk.

"We brought her to the emergency room and they said her temperature was 110," she said.

Cocoa died at the veterinarians, and two hours later another puppy of Tobias' also died after going for a walk while out in the heat.

"They said he had also had heat stroke," she said. "He just didn't pass out."

Antwan Walker, the veterinarian who treated Tobias' puppies, said unfortunately the animals' deaths aren't unusual in such high temperatures.

"Every summer you get your cases," he said. "You get one or two here or there, but in the past week we've had four or five that have come in for heat stroke."

Walker said a contributing problem in heat-related pet deaths is that many owners fail to understand how important it is to keep their pets cool with available water and shade during the hottest parts of the day. He also said dogs getting their exercise in the heat, and the breed of the dogs can also play roles in heat stroke deaths.

"Smushed-in-nose dogs like Boston Terriers, pugs [and] small breed dogs like that are more prone because they already have respiratory problems," he said.

Tobias said the death of her two puppies has alerted her to the dangers of North Texas heat. She also said she plans to keep her new puppy nice and cool.

E-mail bgreene@wfaa.com