I’ll admit that I am a dog lover. One of my favorite things about working from a home office is that my dog lays curled up next to my chair all day, occasionally bringing me a ball to throw for him. Dogs are our companions, playmates and protectors…..they truly are part of the family. So it was no surprise that when I came across a press release about a coating that is helping dogs, I wanted to share the information with our readers.

Architectural coatings firm Textured Coatings of America (TEX•COTE^®) recently received a phone call from a government contractor who said his guard dogs were burning their paws on the scorching hot pavement. Was anything available to help cool off the outdoor concrete surface and spare the dogs’ pain?

The company recommended and eventually provided to the contractor its patented COOL-TEC^® heat-reflective concrete and wood-deck coating, which can reduce surface temperatures by up to 50 °F. The low-VOC, water-based system uses solar-reflective, heat- and ultraviolet-stable pigments. The coating is thicker than ordinary coatings, filling hairline cracks, covering splinters and hiding imperfections. It is water and weather resistant, and is available in unlimited colors.

Days after providing the coating, TEX•COTE received a thank you letter from the contractor, who noted that with the coating, the ground had gone from being too hot to touch to literally cool enough to walk on barefoot. It was saving the paws of their elite trained dogs, whose job required that they run the outdoor grounds.

The coatings company began recommending the product to all government agencies and other companies, as well as residents with outdoor dogs, to help them solve the common problem of dogs damaging their paw pads on the unbearably hot grounds of summer.

TEX•COTE notes that each year, animal-care experts across the country warn of the damage the hot pavement can cause to dogs’ paws. PetMD advises that, in addition to making sure outdoor dogs are kept hydrated and cool, “it’s essential to look out for paw pad burns on your dog or cat whenever your pet is let outside.”

What a great new application and market for an existing product. While the dog days of summer are over for many of us, I’m sure this is a product that can be used year-round at many facilities and locations around the world.