It is January in Minnesota.  Cold is a known factor, and we deal with it every year.  So what makes this year so different?  We have very little snow.

Usually I welcome a year like this: generally warmer than usual and little to no snow.  Heating costs and transportation are easier not to mention my mood is much better.  However, this year we still have no snow and we wound up with the bitter cold.  We’re talking wind chills down to -40 type of cold.

Even though we (as in humans) can adjust to this quite easily by hunkering down in the house under blankets and having good reading material at hand, our poor pup, Koshka, doesn’t have that option.

The years that are cold and snowy Koshka just burrows in and lets the snow insulate her.  She stays nice and warm without any issues.

This year, however, she is exposed and cold.  She was shivering a lot out there, and we knew we had to do something.  I came up with an idea to keep her warm while waiting for Kirstin to be done with a dentist appointment, and put it into place after the girls and I got home.  I went to the basement and found a few boxes to block off the doorways into the kitchen.  I then went to the garage and grabbed some dog food and the leash and headed out to Koshka.  I should have aborted this plan when Koshka balked at the back door and tried to get away.  Instead, I made her go inside.  I admit freely that this was not a good idea.  She hates being confined and won’t even use her doghouse unless there’s a bad thunderstorm.  She was shaking more indoors than she was when she was outdoors.  Eventually her nerves got the best of her and she wound up pooping on the floor.  Plain failed.  I couldn’t keep her inside, so out she went again.  When I left her she was much happier and no longer shaking.

Cue the next day.  I knew it would be even colder, so I had to find some other way of keeping her warm.  On my way into town for my own dentist appointment and other errands, I pondered the situation.  I couldn’t come up with anything.  I talked to our daycare provider when I dropped off Em, and she said, “Too bad you can’t find something like a horse blanket for a dog.”

I had my answer!  Really, I think there was a light bulb above my head and everything.

I headed for the thrift shop and picked up a lined flannel jacket.  I put it on Koshka and buttoned the top three buttons.  It took a few tries to get it set up so she could walk, sit, and lie down.  Finally with some extra fabric I had on hand used as a belt and the sleeves tied on top of Koshka’s back, she had her “horse blanket for a dog.”

She is much happier and no longer shivering.  She kept on her blanket all last night and all day today.  I was just out there to readjust the jacket for tonight, and she’s very content.  In fact, she was talking to me like she always does, so I think this makeshift thing is working.