Extreme weather conditions are not just extreme for us, they are extreme for our four-legged pals as well! While we can wrap ourselves up in coats, blankets, hats, and scarves to prepare ourselves for the elements we should really stop to think about our furry companions as well.
This was a lesson that was learned too late for Sarah Garner, 31. She was out for her usual walk with her Border Collie on Thursday morning when she noticed her dog was refusing to walk. It was then that she noticed blood on the grass and swiftly checked his paws.
“When we were coming back from our normal morning walk we noticed blood on the frosty grass and that Chase was not wanting to walk.
I could see that the bottom of his paws had appeared to burn off, so my partner quickly picked him up and rushed him to the car.
We went straight to the vets where he had his feet cleaned, dressed and he was given some pain relief and then we decided he should have laser treatment to help the healing process.
The vets think he will be out of action for the next two weeks, and he has to wear waterproof bags on his feet while the dressings are helping.”
By posting this she is hoping that others will learn from her mistakes.
“I’m sharing my story in hope that people will realize the damage the cold can do to a dog’s paws and either refrain from taking them out when it’s really cold or get them snowshoes,
Once he’s allowed to go back out for walks he’s going to be wearing snow boots to stop this from happening again.
It’s really sad to see him how he is now and see the evident pain that he went through, but hopefully, with the shoes, this won’t happen again.
I’d advise anyone to not walk their dogs in such cold weather, but if you do need to walk them invest in some paw boots to protect them.”
So the next time you are about to take your best friend out into the elements considers the weather. Heat and cold hurt them just as much as they hurt us!