The platform, known as Pawcast by Weather.pet, provides critical temperature readings for various ground surfaces—including asphalt, grass, and concrete—while factoring in vital biological variables such as specific breeds, body sizes, and coat lengths. By translating these complex environmental factors into practical data, the service helps dog owners better plan their daily walks, exercise routines, and outdoor excursions to ensure the health and safety of their furry companions.
The inspiration behind the project stems from everyday observations that often go unnoticed by human pedestrians who are elevated several feet higher above the pavement. Clay Bartlett, the founder behind the initiative, recently highlighted the stark contrast between ambient air temperature and the scorching reality experienced by pets at ground level during a pet industry event.
Recounting the experience in an email, Bartlett noted that while standing outside a pet conference in Fort Worth, Texas, he pointed an infrared thermometer at the pavement and recorded a reading of 131 degrees Fahrenheit, while the surrounding air temperature sat at 98 degrees. That significant 33-degree gap demonstrates how easily a pet can suffer severe paw pad burns even over a short walking distance across sun-baked urban infrastructure.
Recognizing that hazard, Bartlett and his team assembled a specialized group of veterinarians, veterinary nurses, and professional dog trainers to develop Pawcast. The core philosophy driving the platform is the simple truth that the temperature felt by dogs can be wildly different from what human beings experience a few feet higher in the air.
During a recent testing and rollout window spanning from late September through October, Pawcast successfully delivered 28,000 customized weather alerts to more than 2,000 pet parents across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Each report provides standard temperature data alongside a proprietary metric called "Dog Feel°," which gives owners an accurate assessment of how the weather conditions will actually impact their specific pet.
This specialized meteorological service is not Bartlett’s first foray into the online pet care and technology space. Prior to launching Pawcast, Bartlett and his veterinary colleagues spent eight years building and scaling TeleTails, which has since grown into a leading veterinary telehealth platform providing remote care and professional guidance for an estimated 1.5 million pet parents across the country.
The journey toward creating a dedicated canine weather service began through everyday clinical observations and client interactions. According to Bartlett, over the past year, co-founder and Chief Veterinary Officer Dr. Hilary Jones noticed a marked increase in pet safety questions from concerned owners seeking guidance on how weather conditions might affect their animals. These inquiries revealed a massive information gap within existing pet care resources, with much of the available veterinary literature on the subject relying on outdated models and generalized climate grids that failed to account for modern realities or specific ground dynamics.
Determined to replace stale guidelines dating back decades, the veterinary team took a hands-on approach to research. Over the course of a year, researchers gathered thousands of actual surface temperature readings across diverse geographical regions nationwide. They measured asphalt, concrete, and grass across bustling urban centers, quiet suburban neighborhoods, and rural environments under varying weather conditions.
Those extensive field readings became the empirical foundation for a sophisticated mathematical model designed to analyze how heat and cold reach a dog moving at ground level. By combining these surface physics with individualized traits—such as a dog’s specific breed, coat thickness, age, and body weight—the team successfully produced a nuanced, dog-focused temperature metric known as "Dog Feel°," alongside route-specific estimates tailored for the duration and environment of the walk itself.
Bringing this complex meteorological data to everyday pet owners required a user-friendly digital interface, and the resulting application has been designed to be intuitive and accessible. The Pawcast service is readily available for download on both the Apple App Store for iOS users and the Google Play Store for Android users, allowing pet parents nationwide to integrate canine-specific weather checks into their daily routines.
