Summertime is full of fun, freedom and hot dogs and we don’t mean the kind you get at the ballpark! Although an exact number is difficult to find it is estimated that thousands of dogs die every year from heat-related causes. A little information and common sense can save lives.

Memorial Day symbolizes the start of summer for you and your pet. Before you start planning trips to the beach and summer getaways, keep in mind that it’s important to plan ahead for pet travel and always keep the best interests of your furry, four-legged friends in mind.

The end of the school year is upon us and now the inevitable question is: “What are we going to do ALL summer long?” or the infamous: “I’m bored,” yes it is summer break! Parents are frantically searching for camps, activities, play dates, swimming lessons, movie days, etc. to fill their kid’s days to avoid the “I’m bored” trap.

The Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department will ban open fires in city mountain and desert preserves effective Monday, May 13. In consultation with the Phoenix Fire Department, smoking and charcoal fires are included in the ban due to the extreme fire danger that the combination of low humidity, increasing temperatures and frequent high winds creates each spring. Additional information on the ban is available online at phoenix.gov/parks.

That Saturday afternoon in Ahwatukee was pushing a temperature of about 96 degrees as Cook and Quian's group of friends met outside at a nearby lake for group and couple photos.

The 2013 USA Volleyball Junior Beach Tour opened with hot temperatures and even hotter action at the Desert Open on April 28 in Glendale.

Arizonans have devised a variety of ways to retreat from the scorching summer heat, including relaxing indoors or poolside, or escaping it entirely for a summer vacation. However, there’s one thing that can’t escape from the sizzling temperatures — your ride.

Besides pulse, respiratory rate, and blood pressure, a patient’s temperature is also considered a “vital sign.” The thing that makes a person’s temperature vital is that the body’s homeostasis, or ability to maintain all functions optimally, depends upon a certain range of heat. Most everyone can recite that the average body core temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit with a healthy range being anywhere from 97 to 99 degrees. Temperatures that vary below or above this average create an internal atmosphere that is not conducive to the various systems’ functioning. The term “fever” generally refers to anything over 99 degrees. In order to maintain the healthful range, the body has a regulating system that kicks in much like any thermostat. If the core temperature starts to rise, we begin a cooling mechanism through sweating. If the core temperature starts to decrease, shivering will initiate warming through muscle contractions.

Despite the bad rap that saturated fats have, there’s a lot of evidence indicating that saturated fat is essentially good for you. The real harmful and unhealthy fats include trans fats, hydrogenated fats and vegetable oils.

Out on the grass between classroom buildings and the baseball field at Kyrene Centennial Middle School, a group of 7th graders were measuring indoor temperatures of their model homes for an urban heat island project last week.

As temperatures begin rising, so do concerns for children around pools with no fences. To help alleviate the worries of families and assure children’s safety, Fulton Homes is kicking off its annual Fence Patrol program this month.

While summer temperatures can be a scorcher, there’s one activity that helps Arizonans beat the heat: lounging in the pool. And what better way to cool off than relax in someone else’s pool — especially at one of our state’s sparkling AAA Four or Five Diamond properties?

Pressure cookers never really did much for me. They seemed fussy — and scary! All those stories about explosions...

As spring temperatures warm, be ready to increase the irrigation cycle on some watering zones around your house. To make sure your spring-summer garden transition happens easily, complete a thorough irrigation check-up to detect any existing and potential problems — before temperatures rise and timely watering becomes a crisis.

It has been a busy year for plumbers fixing cracked frozen pipes, but local plumbing and air conditioning specialists say the danger of leaking pipes is never really over for homeowners. It’s important to take steps year-round to prevent water damage.

It seems that every culture has a probiotic food that has been made for centuries. The Koreans have Kimchi. The Japanese have Miso Soup and Kombucha. The Africans have Amasi and the list goes on and on. Our history and ancestors have fermented and preserved many types of foods. This actually benefited our health and well being. Meanwhile, in our generation we have gone away from these traditions and have added antibiotics to our bodies. These antibiotics can be found in both our medicine and our food. This has caused a great imbalance in the beneficial bacteria that belongs in our bodies. This imbalance has contributed to a wide variety of diseases. Today, we are seeing a great come back with both probiotic supplements and foods.

Looking for a few simple ways to freshen up the go-to dish of the Super Bowl? We cobbled together a mighty tasty basic guacamole, then came up with four ways to turn basic into unbelievably good.

The day of the big game calls for big, stick-to-your-ribs grub.

Q: Does it affect your iPhone’s battery life when you charge it every night? I have found a lot of conflicting answers on the web. — Madeline

I’m always searching for ways to make a healthier version of risotto, one of my favorite winter Italian dishes.

Much as I love mashed white potatoes, my favorite “potato” is the sweet variety.

This summer I had the misfortune to encounter the Internet culinary sensation known as cookie dough dip.