Skip to content

Letter: Pavement too hot for dogs to handle

As they crossed, I saw the dog lifting a paw and hobbling on three. The owner seemed unaware of his dog's suffering.

To the editor:

At about 3:30 on the afternoon of July 28 I was waiting for a green light at Cedar Avenue and Pandosy. On the corner opposite me a man with a black lab-cross dog was also waiting to cross Cedar Avenue. We were going in opposite directions—he and dog south and I north.

The dog could not stand on four feet at any time during the wait. His pads were clearly burning from the heat.

As they crossed, I saw the dog lifting a paw and hobbling on three. The owner seemed unaware of his dog's suffering. He may have been a tourist as he had a large camera hanging on this chest. The temperature at the time was 34 C (93 F).

This man may wonder why his dog's paws are cracked or blistered if he takes the time to look later this evening.

Residents know better than to walk their dogs in the heat of the day, but tourists may not know this.

I took my shoe off to see how I could take the heat of the sidewalk. I would have had serious burns if made to walk barefoot like that dog that afternoon.

Helen Schiele, Kelowna