St. Charles dog walker battles frigid temperatures

Susan Miller and her client's dog bundled up in their coats Thursday afternoon and headed out for an important meeting in St. Charles.

Her client was a dog named Dash, and he had an appointment with a patch of snow covered grass that needed keeping no matter what the temperature was.

Miller owns 4 Paws Inc. in South Elgin, a pet sitting and walking service she's operated for about 12 years. She has clients throughout the Fox Valley.

"When it's cold outside we limit the amount of time the pet is outside to five to seven minutes," Miller said. Then they spend the remainder of the time inside playing. Typically, a normal visit is at least 20 minutes.

"Last year was pretty brutal, but this week takes the cake," she said.

In addition to limiting the time outside, Miller said she makes sure the animals wear whatever coats and boots they're willing to wear when it's this cold out.