Hot pavement not for paws

At about 3:30 this afternoon, I as waiting for a green light a Cedar Avenue and Pandosy, on the corner opposite me a man with a large 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). This man may wonder why his dogs 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 this afternoon.  Kelowna does have good day dog daycare places that could help tourists on days too hot for any animal.

If anyone reading this knows how to alert a few radio stations about the dangers dogs face on hot days, please do that. 

Helen Schiele