While we can all appreciate a bit of sunshine, last week’s heatwave was extremely difficult for our residents in kennels.
By Tuesday afternoon, temperatures in the kennels had started to climb. Despite the very best efforts of the staff at Cardiff Dog’s Home to keep the dogs cool and comfortable, many of them were beginning to struggle. As the temperature increased again into the late afternoon, the kennels became dangerously hot, placing our brachycephalic (flat-faced) dogs at particular risk of overheating.
With their safety our priority, The Rescue Hotel put out an urgent plea on social media for emergency foster homes, and we were overwhelmed by the response.
The phone rang consistently as kind-hearted people offered to open their homes to the dogs who needed a cool, safe place to stay until the heatwave had passed.
By the following morning, 11 of our brachycephalic dogs had gone into foster care, with even more placements being arranged throughout the day. This included George, Hank, Luca, Obi, Coco, Ace, Roxy, Peppa and Kasabian.
Since then, many of the foster homes have been in touch with lovely updates of their little “holidays” away from kennels.
George has made himself right at home, and we’ve been told his favourite way to cool down is by putting his face in front of the hose before heading back inside to stretch out on the cold floor.
Meanwhile, Kasabian went one step further and found himself a forever home. His foster family fell in love with him and decided to adopt him!
At a worrying time for our dogs, our community responded with urgency and compassion. Every message, phone call, share and offer of help meant vulnerable residents could spend the hottest days safely in foster homes.
We are also incredibly grateful to everyone who dropped off items to help keep the remaining dogs cool, including an air conditioning unit and extra cooling mats.