HELOISE Ice bottles can be used to keep pets cool

Dear Heloise: I have a tip I hope will help pet owners keep their outdoor pets cool during the summer heat. My mother keeps old, empty, 2-liter plastic soda bottles, fills them with water and puts them in the freezer. Once the water is frozen and has become ice, she takes the bottles out and places them in our dogs' houses. The dogs just love to lay right on top of them to keep cool!
After a while, the water will melt, but we just stick it back in the freezer for the next day. For hygienic purposes, we rinse and place the bottles in plastic bags before returning them to the freezer.
Most importantly, please make sure your pet has plenty of cool water to drink throughout the day. Rosie Mena, via e-mail
Dear Readers: Brandi Buffington of Carthage, N.Y., sent an adorable picture of Chip, her long-hair Chihuahua who is 2 years old and weighs 5 1/2 pounds, dragging a toy Pooh bear, which is twice his size, all over the house!
Visit my Web site, www.Heloise.-com, and click on This Week's Pet to see it. Send your favorite, unusual pet photo to: Heloise/Pet Photo, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279. Heloise
Dear Heloise: I have a 55-gallon freshwater aquarium and a 55-gallon saltwater aquarium. To keep both of these tanks in perfect harmony takes a lot of work. Sometimes additives are needed, whether it's to condition the water or increase the salinity. I have many containers that I keep in two different cleaning caddies. One is marked "salt water" and the other "fresh water." When not in use, everything slips right into the respective aquarium's cabinet. This has been the best way I have found to keep the items organized and accessible.
Every few months, I can easily take a quick inventory of what is getting low or needs to be replaced before I go to the pet store. A Reader, via e-mail
Dear Heloise: I learned a lesson a few years ago. I was putting clothes in the dryer when I was called away for a minute, and I left the dryer door open. When I returned, I finished putting the clothes in, closed the door and turned it on. I heard a "bump, bump, bump," but never gave a thought about the cat. I waited a few seconds, thinking the clothes were bunched together, but when the bumping didn't stop, I stopped the dryer and started to unclump the clothes. That's when I saw our cat, Babe, wrapped in the clothes. She was a little dazed, but OK. From then on, I learned to keep the dryer door closed whenever I was not around. Shirley S., via e-mail
XSend a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.
King Features Syndicate