Blue Cross in Burford welcomes temperature drop after struggle to keep animals cool
The animal welfare charity says its buildings are not fit to cope with the recent heatwaves
Staff at the Blue Cross rehoming centre in Burford have welcomed the arrival of cooler temperatures after facing a major challenge keeping animals safe during this summer's hot weather.
The charity was forced to stop using two areas which would normally house smaller pets after staff were unable to keep temperatures low enough during the hottest conditions.
Hannah Wiltshire, centre manager for the small animal department, said the weather had been "really challenging".
While dogs and cats can be kept at temperatures of up to 26°C, some of the smaller animals at the centre need much cooler conditions.
"For a lot of the individual smallies we have on site, that can be as low as 18," Hannah said.
"Things like chinchillas, for example.
"We've really struggled with regulating the spaces that we have for these pets because they were obviously never designed to be used under those conditions."
The centre normally uses the affected areas for animals including chinchillas, degus, hamsters, rats, mice and gerbils.
But even portable air-conditioning units were not enough to bring temperatures down sufficiently.
"We couldn't keep the temperatures under 28/29 degrees, and then on the really hot days they were just what it was outside, so over 30."
The charity was able to move some of the animals into another air-conditioned space at the site, but the high temperatures caused problems across the centre.
Dogs cannot be walked when the temperature outside goes above 26°C, meaning staff had to change their working patterns to make sure they could exercise them safely.
On one of the hottest days, the team had to stop walking dogs at 11am – just two and a half hours after their normal working day began.
Staff, managers and coordinators came into work earlier to help get the dogs walked before temperatures climbed.
Hannah said constantly monitoring the forecast became a major part of running the centre during the hot weather.
"The weather just becomes like your whole working personality," she said.
"I'd have to look at the weather every day in advance, but keep doing it because obviously it changes so often."
The heat also affected other parts of the charity's work.
Assessments, meetings between dogs and potential new owners and adoptions could all be disrupted, while staff also had to carefully consider transporting animals, including trips to the vets.
"It's basically stops us," Hannah said.
The charity is now trying to secure funding for better cooling systems to keep animals safe in future heatwaves.