Adapting to a Hotter Earth as a Pet Parent
Published: October 1, 2020
There’s a high percentage of folks online with the tagline ‘animal lover’ in their profile. I, too, identify as an animal lover and actually think I can hear their thoughts. Though I’m not an animal telepath (don’t tell my boyfriend), I can hear the cries of animals when I think of global warming and its effects on wildlife across our planet. Just think of the fuzzy, but dirty, polar bears and cute walruses!
Those animal lovers should be acquainted with the fact that the Earth is changing, and animal care will need to change along with it. You might not be caring for a walrus or artic fox, you do have one pet on your hand and that’s your bestest friend in the whole wide world, yes he is: your dog.
Instead of screaming this information out of my car window at dog owner’s during my weekly trip to the farmer’s market, I channeled all of my energy into this blog post.
Today, you’ll read how to adapt to a hotter Earth as a dog parent. Here’s what I’ll cover:
· When you step outside, what’s going on.
· How your pet will be affected
· Proposed changes to your daily routines… if I may.
Read on to get the scoop how to be the best dog parent (or any pet parent that takes their pet outside, but mostly I’ll focus on dogs!)
What’s Going on Outside
The National Climate Assessment proved a point most people don’t want to hear. The study conducted proved that humans are to cause for global warming. Our behaviors on the planet will cause an eight-degree increase on Earth by 2100.
An eight-degree variation, as put by the NRDC, is like having to wear a sweater on a chilly day compared to not having to wear one a warm spring afternoon. While that’s a cute comparison, shit’s more serious than that, my friends.
I’m never one to put sugar-coat things so here’s the point. Your dog will inevitably be affected by this hotter Earth. Why? Pssst, they don’t wear shoes.
Earth’s surface is rising, due to our own mishaps, and will increase up to eight-degrees by 2100.
How Your Dog Will Suffer If You Don’t Pay Attention to a Warmer Climate
Simply put, you wanting to drag your dog to the farmer’s market will result in burn injuries to those squishy paw pads you love so much. Each year, vets are ready for dog injuries like heat stroke and burns to paws. You can avoid those traumatic trips to the doctor and unwarranted medical bills, but we’ll get on to that later.
The main culprit to these injuries are walks on dark pavement or asphalt. Even mild temperatures like 77° can produce asphalt temps up to 125°. At 86°, the pavement feels like 135° and with just another degree increase, the ground now feels like 143° Fahrenheit.
You can test the asphalt yourself by sticking your own barefoot on the ground or feeling it with the back of your hand. It’s accepted that if you can hold the back of your hand down on the ground for at least 7 seconds, your pup can handle the heat too.
Your dog’s paws are tender! They’ll burn with the asphalt reaching upward of 143 degrees on a hot afternoon.
What You Can Do as a Pet Parent
If you were a few of the unlucky patrons that heard me scream at you, here’s what you could have done to prevent that from happening.
- Walk your dog in the morning, late evening, or night (don’t forget a bright collar or glowstick).
- Before you go: it takes a few hours for the asphalt to heat up and cool down. The hot pavement hurts dog paws!
- Test the pavement before you walk.
- Calculate an alternative route.
- Grass is the best way to go when you’ve got to outside and don’t have hot pavement dog booties.
- Buy dog shoes or boots, that were made for walking.
- You might have seen these on dogs. Yes, it is hilarious. But I say “brava!” every time I see hot pavement dog booties or hot pavement paw protection in general! You know their mom or dad really cares for their well-being. With proper training and a good product, your dog can go with you anywhere and anytime of the of day.
You can take walks at cooler times of the day, test the pavement, walk on grass, or buy dog shoes!
Part of our job as dog moms and dads is to steer our pack where everyone is most safe. And sometimes, that means buying those horrific hot pavement dog booties. With our world rapidly changing, this is just one aspect we need to be heedful of. You can’t directly save the walruses, but you can do your part to care for your dog and increase hot pavement paw protection on a daily basis.
If you’re looking for other ways to reduce your gas emission, I highly recommend checking out this new study. University of Oxford researchers found a way to reduce an individual’s footprint by 73%!
Bonus: If you purchase anything from Pack Leashes, use my code “PandaBoy20” for 20% of your whole purchase!
Disclaimer: My dog may make a commission based on your sale. He’s gotta eat somehow.
