周四 | 在日本，毛孩子们有了清凉解暑的穿戴风扇

Dogs, CatsGet Wearable Fan to Beat the Heat in Japan

在日本，毛孩子们有了清凉解暑的穿戴风扇

A Tokyo clothing maker has worked with an animaldoctor to create a wearable cooling device for house pets like dogs and cats.

The company hopes that the fan willhelp pets that cannot drop their fur coatsduring Japan’s boiling hot summer weather.

Rei Uzawa is president of clothing maker Sweet Mommy. She wantedto create the device after seeing her pet chihuahua suffering in the heat. Shesaid her dog was very tired every time it was taken out for a walk.

Uzawa told the South China MorningPost that she got her idea from seeing wearable air conditioners, like Sony’sReon Pocket. The Sony device can remove heat to cool the human body.

Sweet Mommy’s device is called Cool Dog but it is good for cats,too. Uzawa said it was created under the supervision of an animal doctor atOasis Animal Hospital. The device is a battery-poweredfan. It is attached to thin material and blows air around the animal's body. Itweighs about 80 grams.

"There was almost no rainy season this year, so the hotdays came early, and in that sense, I think we developed a product that isright for the market," Uzawa said.

After the rainy season in Tokyo ended in late June, the Japanesecapital suffered the longest heatwave on record. Temperatures up to 35 degreesCelsius were recorded for nine days.

"I usually use dry ice packs (to keep the dog cool). Butit's easier to walk my dog if we have this fan," said Mami Kumamoto. Sheis the owner of two dogs, a small poodle named Pudding and a terrier namedMaco.

The device came out in early July. Uzawa said Sweet Mommy hasreceived around 100 orders for the product. It comes in five different sizesfor a price of about $74.

I’m Ashley Thompson.

Hai Do wrote this story for VOA Learning English with materialsfrom Reuters and other sources.

Words in This Story

fan –n. a machine that moves air around 风扇

fur –n. the hair of an animal （某些动物的）软毛，柔毛

air conditioner –n. amachine that cools air 空调机，空调设备

battery –n. a device that stores andsupplies electricity 电池，蓄电池