RSPCA Victoria Heat Pets: January 2026 Reports and Grooming Slots

Updated 31 August 2026. RSPCA Victoria’s January 2026 heat warning (8 January) is the dated RSPCA Victoria heat pets snapshot: inspectors had 20 reports before midday of pets left without shelter or water in around 40°C heat.

Chief Inspector Michelle Green and veterinary director Dr Melissa Meehan described heatstroke as rapid and potentially deadly. That is a welfare story, not a reason to cancel grooming forever. It is a reason to move the appointment.

By the Dog Grooming Australia Team.

What this means on a salon or van day

A dryer bank and a steel van are heat sources. Book early morning or evening when a heatwave is named. Ask the groomer how they cool the workspace. If the answer is a shrug, wait a day. RSPCA knowledgebase heatstroke advice still stands in winter archives: shade, water, no hot cars, vet if you see collapse or bright gums. We don’t diagnose. We point to a vet.

Don’t walk the dog across a car park that burns your hand, then expect a calm clip. Paw pads cook on concrete after the air cools. Meehan’s quoted point in the January coverage was that ground heat lingers after sunset.

Standing guides, not a second heatwave essay

Coat and frequency: how often to groom. Mobile heat is also a Perth problem: mobile grooming Perth. Anxiety: anxious dogs. Find a local operator: locations. Other dated notes: news.

January 2026 is the dated VIC snapshot. The appointment rule does not expire in August: if a 38°C day is forecast, you still shift the slot.

Mobile vans in Melbourne heat

A steel van on a western-suburbs driveway is a heat source even if the salon down the road has air-con. Ask how they cool the workspace before you book a 1pm Groodle. If the answer is a shrug, wait a day. That is the same question Perth owners should ask, and the same RSPCA list of signs if the dog is already distressed.

We are not turning January inspectorate numbers into a ranking of Melbourne salons. The reports were about pets left without water or shade. A booked groom that starts at 8am is still a reasonable plan. A late-afternoon dryer marathon in a heatwave is not.