Giving your pets ice cubes when it’s hot outside won’t hurt them

CLEVELAND — As temperature rise, we are taking VERIFY on the road today to talk about pet safety in hot weather at City Dogs Cleveland (watch the attached video to see our helper, the sweet, adoptable pup, Hoji).

“You can go to jail for tying your pet outside during a heat advisory.”

• Cleveland Animal Control Officer Melina Russo
• Cleveland City Ordinance 603.092
• Cleveland Municipal Court

Ohio law varies throughout the state when it comes to tying out your pets, so Animal Control Officer Melina Russo explained the ordinance in effect in Cleveland.

“When there's a heat advisory issued by a local or state authority or the National Weather Service, it is illegal to tie out, or tether, your pets in Cleveland,” she said.

Cleveland City Ordinance 603.092 states that the first time this happens, it's a minor misdemeanor unless your dog gets sick or injured while tied out. If that happens, or if you get caught doing it more than once, it can rise to the level of a misdemeanor of the first degree.

Cleveland Municipal Court explains that while a minor misdemeanor doesn't include possible jail time as a penalty, jail time is possible for higher level misdemeanors.

So we can VERIFY that, yes, you can go to jail in Cleveland for tying your pet outside during a heat advisory.

Second., we've all heard that the pavement can hurt our pets' feet when it’s hot outside, but how do we know if it's too hot?

Today, we VERIFY whether putting your hand down on the ground is an effective way to test for pet paw safety.

Kylie Betler from Cleveland City Dogs

“Hot asphalt can be painful to dog paws,” Betler said. “If you're unsure if it's too hot for your pet to walk on, test it by touching it with the back of your hand for a few seconds. If it's too hot for you, it's too hot for them.”

Betler explained this is a common method, and is effective for keeping your pets' paws from being injured while walking outdoors in the heat.

We can VERIFY that, yes, putting the back of your hand on the ground is an effective way to test whether the surface is safe for your pets' paws.

Lastly, a social media post continues to pop up online purporting to be from a veterinarian. It claims that giving ice cubes to dogs in extreme heat makes their body heat up rather than cooling them down due to a reaction to the cold ice cube.

The American Kennel Club (AKC) is our source on this.

The AKC says that “ice cubes can actually be used to slow down the rate of ingestion of water by overly excited dogs.” The group adds that “veterinarians even recommend offering ice cubes as a way to slowly introduce water to dogs recovering from surgeries.”

So we can VERIFY that giving ice cubes to your pet when it's hot outside won't hurt them. The AKC says we can all chill out on that one. 

By the way, our helper Hoji is available for adoption at Cleveland City Dogs now, if you’re looking for a new furry friend!

If you come across something that you're unsure about being true or false, you can send it to us to VERIFY by emailing us at verify@wkyc.com, or texting us at (216) 344-3300.