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February
15, 2007
For
one poor dog, this month's extreme temperatures were especially
cruel.
The animal was found frozen to the floor of its doghouse and dumped
in a cemetery, according to officials at the Humane Society of Huron
Valley.
The Humane Society investigated 54 reports of dogs left outdoors
in the near-zero or subzero weather last week, said Julie Curtis,
animal cruelty investigator for the organization. In about half
the cases, the dogs had no shelter or only partial or flimsy shelter,
Curtis said.
She said the calls last week were the most she remembers in any
week during her eight years as animal cruelty investigator.
"These
animals are suffering,'' Curtis said. "The community needs
to know we're not going to tolerate this.''
Seven dogs enduring the cold were taken to the animal shelter after
their owners signed over control of them, Curtis said. The Humane
Society worked with other owners to provide adequate conditions
for the dogs.
The law requires that a dog kept outside have a doghouse with insulation
and bedding and that it have sufficient food and water, Curtis said.
However, the Humane Society's position is that dogs should not be
left out in the cold at all. Anything below freezing is dangerous,
Curtis said.
No prosecutions have been initiated yet from the cases investigated
last week, but some of the cases are still open, said Tanya Hilgendorf,
executive director of the society.
Bedding for dogs left outside should be straw, not blankets, since
blankets can freeze. The organization will provide a doghouse and
straw to people who can't afford them, Hilgendorf said.
"We
want to see these animals protected,'' she said.
Dogs, of course, aren't the only animals that can suffer from the
cold, Curtis said. For instance, cats are 50 percent more likely
to die than dogs if left in the cold, she said. Even rabbits, which
have a thicker coat, need to have a fully enclosed hutch with bedding
and a constant supply of food and water.
Some other animals, such as horses, are regulated under agricultural
laws rather than domestic pet laws, but they still need protection,
Curtis said. Technically, the law only requires that there be a
tree in .the pasture where the horse is kept.
"Really,
what we like to see is a nice lean-to or some kind of wind
break,'' Curtis said. A blanket on the horse's back also helps it
preserve heat, she said.
The bottom line is the same for all animals, Curtis said.
"Think
of treating them like a living creature,'' she said.
John Mulcahy can be reached at jmulcahy@annarbornews.com or
734-994-6858.
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