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Local man creates neighbourhood cooling station

'If you have the ability to help, you should'
20190723 cooling station macisaac
John MacIsaac fills up his small cooling station for dogs. Photo by Chris Dawson/BayToday.

When the temperatures started to soar, John MacIsaac figured he needed to do something to help. 

MacIsaac lives in a unit in the Carruthers Complex which is located between Laurentian Park and the Chippewa Walking Bridge. He has seen a lot of dog owners walking their hot pooches by his place, so he decided to create his own little cooling station.  

“I have seen a lot of videos around the world in places like Australia where they suffer major heat waves and to help each other out they put hoses out  to the street and let animals or anybody walking by to be able to cool down so I thought this would be a great idea,” said MacIsaac.  

“I just noticed I have seen a lot of dogs walk by here and so we live between Chippewa and the park and a lot of people come down here to walk their dogs and it gets really hot so I figured this would be a good spot for them to stop and have a drink.” 

MacIsaac says the response has been great.  He hopes more people follow his lead. 

“You do not see that many helpful things in the community anymore like people trying to help other people so when people see something like this there is a really positive response,” he said. 

“We all have the responsibility to do our part. Not everyone has the option of air conditioning or other ways to cool down and they are trying to find ways to cool down and they just don’t have it so if you have the ability to help, you should.”  


Chris Dawson

About the Author: Chris Dawson

Chris Dawson has been with BayToday.ca since 2004. He has provided up-to-the-minute sports coverage and has become a key member of the BayToday news team.
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