Before the heat got to Jake, he thought it was fun to play on the carpet.

Not long ago a large part of the Midwest lost power for days, or more than a week in some places, and Jake, Windy and Max were perplexed.

We were part of more than 500,000 Ohio folks who lost electricity. With daylight and a cool house, the furkids didn’t notice. But by 10 that night they knew their routine was no more.

Flashlights and candles. Radio blaring about area-wide power outages. Temperature climbing. No dog was happy.

Max’s beard is soaked after taking a long drink of water.

We had Max’s insulin, and some other perishables, in a cooler. We opened every window in the house. We were reading by flashlight or via iPad. The furkids sought refuge on the bare, hardwood floor. Their activity level was nil.

After a near-sleepless night for everyone, morning brought a slight temperature drop. Everyone muddled through a strange Saturday. By mid-day, the house was hot, and the floor was the place to be.

We hunkered down for another night without power. We crossed the street to take care of some neighbors’ dogs because they had to leave their baking house with their infant.

Our area was projected to be re-connected in six days. We turned the radio off and the lanterns on to read.

At nearly 11 p.m. the lights flickered then remained on. Jake, Windy and Max perked up in the light. After a couple hours of the air conditioning being on, everyone settled in to get a good night’s sleep.

Windy was relieved the power was back.