As Gainesville’s heat and humidity swell, earning it its nickname “The Swamp,” local shelters are working hard to keep their dogs comfortable.
Both the Humane Society of North Central Florida and the Alachua County Animal Shelter have warehouse-style kennels, making it an active effort to prevent overheating.
Franziska Raeber, the director of development at the Humane Society of North Central Florida, said the main adoption floor was built as an open-air, warehouse-style kennel. There is no central air conditioning, and adding windows is not possible due to the cinderblock layout.
The main floor has 30 to 40 kennels, many of them double-sided to allow the dogs more space.
“The facility was well thought out until the heat started,” Raeber said. “We can handle a day or two of heat, but it's the consistency and knowing that 64 days of last year were so hot.”
Over the summer, the humane society moves as many dogs as possible into its 30-plus indoor air-conditioned kennels. The kennels are typically reserved as quarantine spaces for animals with medical needs or for isolating reactive dogs, Raeber said.
HSNCF has almost 300 animals in its care as of July 2, Raeber said, but limited space during the summer months makes it difficult to take in new animals. She emphasized the shelter’s many programs to get animals out of the shelter, especially Doggy Day Out, which allows the community an opportunity to take an available dog for a day. She also encouraged fostering, which offers both short- and long-term options.
HSNCF provides medical care, food and anything else a foster could need, Raeber added.
“They can come here and support our mission, support the animal, save an animal,” she said. “They get to have an animal without the long-term commitment.”
The humane society sent an email to the community June 24 asking for more dog fosters due to the high temperatures.
“We did react earlier this year because we learned our lesson last year,” Raeber said.
Having the word out earlier this year will help the organization continue its work, she said.
In the midst of a heat dome, nighttime is no longer a relief from high temperatures. A heat dome is a region of extreme heat that traps hot air like a lid for days or weeks.
Fostering is one of the HSNCF’s most substantial resources, Raeber said.
“Every animal that goes into foster care opens up a kennel,” she said. “Every foster that takes an animal saves a life.”
Jordyn Chiodo, the HSNCF’s social media manager and development coordinator, led a tour of the kennel, which easily became loud and warm, with temperatures reaching the upper 90s.
Some dogs need more space and can’t be placed indoors, Chiodo said, like their resident dog, Teddy, who Raeber describes as a “big, lovable boy.” Since he is more active, he is more comfortable in a bigger space, which is only available on the main — non-air-conditioned — adoption floor.
A large humming fan was placed in front of his kennel to help him beat the heat.
HSNCF made renovations in 2018 when it assumed its name and moved into the space after the merger of Alachua County Humane Society, Gainesville Pet Rescue and Helping Hands Pet Rescue, Chiodo said. But the recent heat and rising temperatures make the space no longer sustainable.
It would cost about $2.5 million to redo the whole warehouse area, Chiodo said.
The humane society’s foster program has been operating for 50 years now, Chiodo said, “and we’ve been able to build up a very dedicated group of fosters.” Gainesville hosts many students who are only in the area temporarily and aren’t able to adopt, she added, so they especially promote fostering to college students
The number of fosters fluctuates based on the school year schedule, Chiodo said, dipping during Thanksgiving, spring break and summer and winter breaks.
On average, six in 10 animals at the HSNCF are currently in foster homes, she said.
Fostering helps give shelter dogs a better quality of life, Chiodo added. Twenty-three hours a day in a kennel is far from enjoyable for the dogs, she said, who require mental stimulation and enrichment the shelter can’t offer all day long.
Fosters can get to know the dog’s personality and relay the information back to the humane society, she added.
Brittany D’Azzo, the animal resource supervisor at Alachua County Animal Resources, said summertime is the slowest adoption time but the highest intake time.
Many people are on vacation and aren’t looking to adopt an animal, she said, while others are out and about and finding more stray animals — or at least, saying they are.
“We have people who are going for the summer to vacation, and they’re bringing us their animals,” D’Azzo said. “Most of the time, they’re saying that they found it as a stray, but after some digging, or if the animal is microchipped to them, we discover that it's actually their animal.”
Summertime is also when ACAR sees a spike in animals left in parked vehicles or outside, which can sometimes create an emergency and put strain on the shelter’s intake.
“People don’t realize that on a regular, 80-degree day, your vehicle can reach 100 degrees in just 10 minutes,” she said.
The animal shelter issues heat advisories to educate the public. An animal’s internal body temperature goes up very fast, she said, so they can reach heat stroke level very quickly.
When considering taking your dog for a walk, Diazzo suggests pressing the back of your hand on the pavement.
“If it’s uncomfortable for you, you’re gonna burn the pads of their feet,” she said.
D’azzo urges dog owners to “pay attention” to their pets because they can’t cool themselves down as easily as a person can. Owners need to ensure their dogs have access to fresh, cool water and airflow.
Similar to the humane society, ACAR allows volunteers to take a dog for a day out, an overnight sleepover or a weekend, with all resources provided by the shelter.
For dogs with no notes — which means the shelter does not know much about the animals’ preferences and behaviors — taking them out for even a day increases their chances for adoption by about 14%, D’Azzo said.
Even if community members each contribute a tiny part, like taking a dog on a walk at ACAR, she said, it would help that dog so much.
“The shelter is meant to be temporary,” D’Azzo said. “It only takes 14 days for a dog to be in the shelter setting for their brain to be changed permanently.”
It can take only a couple of days for a dog in the shelter to be permanently emotionally changed, she said. Just like with people, traumatic experiences can cause lasting emotional scars that can be difficult — and sometimes impossible — to overcome.
ACAR houses about 260 animals at the shelter and 150 animals in foster care as of July 12, D’Azzo said.
All those animals are being completely provided for, including medically, she said. Fosters get overnight emergency access care without having to front the cost of an emergency vet visit.
“They do not have to feel the financial burden at all, so really all they have to do is provide their time,” she said.
Emily Medina-Finsen is a contributing writer for The Alligator.
