People are buying PPE for pets to protect dogs against volcanic ash in Alaska
AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
A volcano near Anchorage, Alaska, is rumbling, and that's prompting people nearby to get protective gear in case the sky fills with ash that could damage eyes, lungs, and skin - and fur. Nat Herz reports.
ALLIANA SALANGUIT: Iroh.
JESSLIN WOOLIVER: OK, come on.
SALANGUIT: Iroh, come. Come.
WOOLIVER: Let's get your goggles on.
NAT HERZ, BYLINE: On the floor of her Anchorage living room, Jesslin Wooliver is coaxing her dog, Iroh, into his eye protection with chunks of freeze-dried salmon.
WOOLIVER: Well, we're trying to just get him not to associate the goggles with, like, torture and pain, but more of the treats.
HERZ: Wooliver's partner, Alliana Salanguit, bought the heart-shaped dog goggles online.
SALANGUIT: I literally just went on Amazon, and I searched, pink dog goggles small. And it was the top result.
HERZ: Salanguit turned to the internet after an announcement last month that a volcano 80 miles west of Anchorage, Mount Spurr, is likely to erupt within the next few weeks or months. City residents regularly contend with environmental threats like earthquakes and wildfires, but volcanic eruptions near a major population center are much rarer. The last significant one from Mount Spurr was 1992. Officials specifically called out the need to prepare pets for the risk of corrosive ashfall, which can contain volcanic glass and irritate eyes and lungs.
MARK ROBOKOFF: Well, I can say that March is our biggest month on record.
HERZ: Mark Robokoff owns local pet store AK Bark.
ROBOKOFF: We generally have one person manning the store at a time. We needed to call in reserves.
HERZ: Robokoff consulted with local vets and recommends booties, ear covers, dog masks and even a raincoat. Two kinds of eye protection have also been flying off the shelves - Rex Specs, which look like ski masks and go for $85. There's a cheaper option called Doggles. Robokoff sold nearly 500 pairs of goggles last month, and he says the gear comes with sartorial side benefits.
ROBOKOFF: It's kind of nice that the goggles not only are a safety precaution, but they look fantastic - appropriate for the sidecar of a motorcycle.
HERZ: City animal control officers say they're most worried about protecting pets' feet from the ash. But the dog goggles are also helpful to have, along with a mask. Iroh's parents, Salanguit and Wooliver, have also procured supplies to protect themselves, but they acknowledge they bought the dog stuff first - priorities.
For NPR News, I'm Nat Herz in Anchorage.
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