Environment
Animals Feel the Strain of Europe’s Heatwave
They’re getting shoes, taking shelter in tunnels, and finding other ways to keep cool in the dangerous heat.
Parts of Europe are now so hot that their dogs need to wear shoes to go outside. So says the Zurich police force, at least.
In a summer where much of Europe has seen unusually high temperatures for an unusually long length of time, the police in Switzerland’s largest city have taken to fitting their squad’s German Shepherds with booties—and have urged others to do the same. They have a point: Asphalt in many places has reached egg-frying temperatures that can hurt paw pads, possibly causing damage to dogs that are already hot and bothered as it is. The warning serves as a reminder that, as the blazing summer continues across much of the continent, humans are far from the only ones to struggle.