Extreme heat temporarily forces AAWL to limit dog adoptions: How you can help

AAWL struggles to keep pets cool during heat wave

Extreme heat forced Arizona Animal Welfare League to temporarily close its doors to dog adoptions. FOX 10's Taylor Wirtz has more on how you can help.

PHOENIX - With extreme heat blanketing the Valley, the Arizona Animal Welfare League (AAWL) closed Thursday for the safety of its animals.

What we know:

Kimberly Root, AAWL's director of marketing and communications, said the intense heat, which reached over 110 degrees, forced the shelter to suspend activities.

The shelter's kennel buildings do not have central air conditioning and rely on swamp coolers, which are less effective in extreme heat.

"We have swamp coolers that cool them," Root said. "And so that's why we're limited when it gets extremely hot outside. Those 115 days, we have to limit the hot air that might be coming in those buildings."

The shelter often limits traffic and closes to canine adoptions on days when temperatures exceed 115 degrees, which Root said costs animals a chance at a home.

"That's a day we're not doing adoptions, and we're not able to get those animals out," she said.

The Arizona Animal Welfare League is currently installing air conditioning in its kennel buildings and hopes to complete the project by the end of the year.

What you can do:

In the meantime, the organization is looking for volunteers to help socialize animals indoors and make frozen treats for them.

"Just even just spending time with them, socializing with them in the kennels really makes a difference," Root said.

Click here to learn more about volunteering, adopting and donating.