Pet Talk: The dog days of summer

DEAR PET TALK: What are the “dog days” of summer?

— Canine Connoisseur

DEAR CANINE CONNOISSEUR: Those days are are happening right now, and have since early July.

The 40 days between July 3 and Aug. 11 are referred to as the “dog days” and have their origin in Homeric Greece (900 years BCE). They refer to the visibility of the star Sirius during starry nights, which always occur in August.

Ancient astronomers noted that Sirius could be the nose in “Canis Major,” the Dog Constellation.

In mythology, Sirius the Dog belonged to Orion the Hunter. The next constellation is “Lepus,” which symbolizes the hare that Canis is chasing!

We may think of the “dog days” as the time of year that the heat causes dogs to flop on the floor, lolling their tongues. But the original meaning meant that this was the time when men went to war.

This was also the time when the Romans believed that Sirius added extra heat to the sun, because it was so bright a star.

Both Romans and Greeks blamed Sirius’ appearance for bringing many maladies to people including drought, fevers, lethargy and mad dogs — which of course meant rabies!

General misfortune was a hallmark of the dog days for the Greeks, while the ancient Egyptians welcomed Sirius appearing in the night sky. They called the star “Sothis” and believed it initiated the life-giving annual flood of the Nile River.

If this is a time of good luck for you — or bad luck — consider this if you are selecting a puppy. During the time of Ancient Greece, Xenophon (4th century BCE) declared the best names for dogs were just one or two syllables, so they could be easily called. Xenophon named his favorite dog Horme (Eager). Atalanta, the swift-footed racer, called her dog Aura (Breeze).

Sally Cragin is the director of Be PAWSitive: Therapy Pets and Community Education. Send questions to [email protected].