While many were seeking respite from the heat inside, those with dogs soaked up the sun outside Monday morning.
Estella was cooling down her dog Teddy at a doggie drinking fountain in Lakeshore East.
She said it's a routine they've mastered since moving to the area four years ago.
"It's very, very hot, and he knows how to handle that," she said. "We walk under the trees and close to the waterfalls."
She said sometimes they do this three times a day and that it has become a crucial step in her fitness and wellness routine.
"Mental health, positive and be very grateful for what I have because I feel like everybody's working, and we have the privilege to be here outside by ourselves, which makes me feel like it's just all for us," she said.
Also braving the heat was Gabriel Sindac, who said the weather didn't bother him or his dogs Monty and Poe.
"I'm kind of used to it," he said. "I used to live in Aurora, Illinois, and then I moved to Colorado, and now I'm back to Chicago, and I've always enjoyed the Chicago summers."
He said the key to keeping his dogs save during the heat is plenty of water.
"I do shave them so they can stay a little bit cooler, but other than that I don't do anything differently other than let them enjoy the weather and give them a lot of fluids," he said.
Prioritizing water is something other dog owners said they're doing, too. For one dog owner and his dog Colin, the heat was especially intense this week.
"The last two days, I've noticed within 10 minutes of our walk that we're both exhausted and thirsty," he said. "I actually have a pack here with water for him and his bowl, and that's the first time I've had to do that in quite awhile," he said.
But adapting to the weather is something he said isn't new for him or anyone who lives in Chicago.
"Whether it's 101 degrees or -10 degrees, if we have something we want to do we're going to go out and do it, and that's kind of the mentality we have here in Chicago," he said.