Dogs
are Freezing to Death!
From AR/DC and Youngstown Vindicator,
OH
PLEASE
report dogs that are out in dangerous weather without appropriate
shelter. Familiarize yourself with the regulations in your area,
report animals who are in bad situations, and MAKE SURE the
situation is improved. In D.C., a single call may save an animal's
life. In other areas, unfortunately, you may have to keep after
animal control about it. Don't let them ignore you—and the
animals. Their job is to keep animals safe and you may have to demand
they do that.
Uncomfortable
as you may be about it, think of how uncomfortable the dog is. BE
ASSERTIVE, for them. In most cases, animal control will make
the guardian take the animal(s) in until they can provide proper
shelter, water, etc. for them.
Take
them straw if there is no other alternative. We have no idea how
many are dying this winter! Please help. According to this article,
the plastic igloo doghouses are just holding in the cold and contributing
to the deaths!
Dave
Nelson, the animal officer below, states that neighbors should provide
food and water and bring suffering outdoor pets into their garages
and basements for shelter. Face your fears and help save a life!
DEEP
FREEZE PUTS DOGS IN DANGER; 14 DIE
Animal
Charity's agent urges people to report
pets neglected outdoors in the cold.
By
Peter Milliken, Vindicator staff writer
Fourteen
dogs in Youngstown are known to have frozen to death outdoors
this month, and Dave Nelson, Animal Charity humane agent, said he
is preparing to file charges against their owners, wherever he can.
"If you can't get out there and give your dog proper food,
proper water, proper shelter, there's something really wrong,"
Nelson said.
Nelson
said he will assemble his reports and photos and confer with the
city prosecutor about the charges in each case and expects to charge
more than half of the owners. "We will start prosecuting them
as soon as I get the first available chance here to get down there
and turn in all the paperwork," he said.
Some
cases are difficult or impossible to prosecute because ownership
of the animal can't be established, he said. None of the 14 owners
answered the door when Nelson arrived. "If they were home,
it would be an arrest right on contact. They'd be taken right to
the Mahoning County Jail," he said. HE SAID HE WAS TIPPED OFF
TO ALL 14 CASES BY NEIGHBORS AND UTILITY WORKERS.
Nelson said his office, which covers all of Mahoning County, has
been receiving an average of 25 calls a day concerning pets suffering
outdoors during the cold snap. Nelson urges those seeing pets suffering
outside to call his office and leave a message on his voice mail
if he's not there.
Nelson,
the only humane agent with full arrest powers in Mahoning County,
said he tries to get to the scene of every animal cruelty and neglect
complaint as soon as he can. If necessary, Nelson urges neighbors
to provide food and water and bring suffering outdoor pets into
their garages or basements for shelter. "A lot of the calls
that we go on are animals that might not have any food out there
or any water. In the last four days, we have not found any clean
water in a bowl at any of the locations that we've been at. It's
all been frozen. It needs to be changed constantly. They have to
have that water in their system as well as food," Nelson said
Wednesday. Nelson said that in the frigid weather we're having now,
dogs should "be brought into a garage with no wind against
the dog, or into a basement, absolutely without a doubt."Under
law, someone who neglects a pet in the cold can be charged with
animal cruelty, which is a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable
by a fine up to $750 and up to 90 days in jail.
Under
a new state law, signed recently by Gov. Bob Taft and taking effect
April 1, the penalties for a first offense will rise to a first-degree
misdemeanor, carrying up to a $1,000 fine and six months in jail
with psychiatric counseling. Under the new law, repeat offenses
are fifth-degree felonies punishable by up to two years in jail
and a $2,500 fine for a person and $7,500 for a pet store, with
psychiatric counseling and a ban on animal ownership.
Seven
of the 14 dead dogs he saw were chained to plastic doghouses,
which protect animals from the rain, but don't offer adequate protection
from the cold, Nelson said. Nine of the 14 were short-haired dogs,
he added. The breeds found dead include German shepherds, Rottweilers
and at least four
pit bulldogs. "A PLASTIC DOGHOUSE, FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON,
CONTAINS THAT COLD AND KEEPS IT IN THERE. Because all the plastic
domes that we have found, we have found dead animals inside frozen
to death." Nelson said that wooden doghouses offer much better
protection.
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