Montgomery County animal shelter urgently looking for fosters amid heat wave

WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — Among the impacts of a brutally hot stretch of days in the D.C. area beginning on Monday: a slowdown on Metro trains, a line of people seeking the sweet relief of ice cream and an animal shelter seeking urgent fosters.

The Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center is without air conditioning on Monday due to a system error. The facility, which stores about 120 dogs, is now circulating the 80-plus degree air around, leaving the dogs in a stressful environment.

“No matter what we do to try to make it less stressful, it’s still a stressful place,” said Executive Director Caroline Hairfield. “This is making it worse.”

Hairfield is encouraging people to foster the animals — even if just for a day or two — while the temperature in the facility lowers. She explained that even after the issue is fixed, the system must reset, and it can still take time for the indoor temperatures to return to normal levels.

“Whether it’s for this or other reasons, fostering actually saves lives,” she said.

MSASAC detailed the fostering process and how you can help in this social media post.

Other heat-related issues in the DC area include a slowdown of Metro trains on outdoor tracks, which is protocol when temperatures reach this level.