Signs of heat stroke

packforkids · Sep 9, 2025

On Aug 9, my friend & I left our home to pick up 2- 4 yr old French bulldogs from California. An 18 hr drive one way. Upon arrival we had good reason to suspect the male had a bad case of pneumonia. A visit to an animal hospital for triage indicated he was fine. He was NOT fine. Five hours later he started to lose the ability to walk. Six hours into the trip he could not breathe & had blood coming from his mouth. A quick diversion to a local vet saved his life from heatstroke. An old vet with a small clinic on a two lane road in the middle of a California valley sprang into action by quickly sedating him, placing him on a ventilator while resting face down on a slab of ice. He was literally minutes away from death. Now I am not sure if a pre existing case of pneumonia combined with heat caused the problem. What I know- there was two dogs and only one got sick. Today Punch is fully recovered & has a clean bill of health. My goal- to relate the early signs of heatstroke & hope to save a life. 1. Inability to stand / walk / weak leg muscles. 2. Can’t lay down. 3. Labored breathing. 4. Hyperthermia causing elevated body temp (punch was 107 after 30 min on ice).

sheila · Sep 10, 2025

Glad to hear…So what’s the name of the other one?

packforkids · Sep 10, 2025

Penny is the other French bulldog

packforkids · Sep 10, 2025

I do not blame the previous owner at all. I blame myself for not knowing the signs of heatstroke. The first clue was weak leg muscles that I contributed to maybe he got injured getting in / out of the car. He quickly went downhill from there.

Jeffc · Sep 10, 2025

They get overheated very easily. We don’t even let ours out in the summer without them being on a harness and leash.

packforkids · Sep 13, 2025

Jeffc said:
They get overheated very easily. We don’t even let ours out in the summer without them being on a harness and leash.

Yes I know. I had pugs for years. They have the same issues. My black pug gets overheated outside in the summer very quickly whereas my fawn pug lasts longer. In this case the cream frenchie had air in the car at all times & very infrequent bathroom breaks. The vet said it could have been the sun coming through the window since he was in the backseat.