It’s been all over the news this week how temperatures have been incredibly cold across parts of North America.
In some places in the US and Canada, the temperature has even been said to be colder than the temperature on Mars, with reports of numerous human deaths as a result of the cold.
Not only are there tragic human deaths taking place in the wintery cold, but animals are also suffering at the hands of the bleak weather.
On Thursday, a woman in Hartford, Connecticut, was arrested on charges of animal cruelty after police said a young pitbull, chained outside her home, was found ‘frozen solid’, according to the Hartford Courant.
Earlier in the week, a dog rescue team in Detroit announced it was searching for a man who had abandoned a Pomeranian, in a cage, in front of their building during the night when the shelter was closed, report Detroit Dog Rescue.
Unfortunately and quite obviously, the dog didn’t survive the night – temperatures were so cold fleas stuck to the poor dog’s body – an investigation is now underway to find who’s responsible.
Just last week, a dog named Nanas was found dead in Toledo, Ohio, on the porch of a home, and was ‘frozen solid’, according to investigators, report The Blade.
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In the Ohio case, the dog’s owner didn’t live in the home, but was keeping his two dogs there, saying he hadn’t seen them for two or three days and had no idea just how Nanas could have gotten out of the house>
The second dog was inside the house and is expected to be OK.
According to The Washington Post, there’ve been at least four similar dog deaths which occurred in Ohio over the past couple of weeks.
There’s been a sharp uptake in incidents of animal cruelty and Detroit Dog Rescue have even reported as many as 600 tip-offs about dogs in distress.
They wrote on Facebook:
Due to the dangerous weather we are receiving more calls, Facebook messages and emails than usual.
Here’s what we are doing to combat the cold and communicate efficiently. We’ve started triaging calls in order of emergency and we are working with Detroit Animal Care and Control to assist with reports about owned dogs in car lots and on private property.
We put more people in the field. This means when you Facebook message us, our team may not have time to message you back, but we have the information and are doing the best we can…
While we pride ourselves on giving our supporters the best care and customer service, Detroit Dog Rescue has received over 600 calls, messages, and emails in the last three days and we are doing everything we possibly can to combat the cold weather.
Even in New Orleans, it’s been revealed by Fox 8 the animal welfare phonelines have been ‘ringing off the hook’ with reports of pets left out in the cold.
Indianapolis Animal Care Services say they’ve received 264 calls about animals in the cold over the new year alone.
These figures are a potent reminder at just how much it takes to look after an animal properly and how leaving a dog out overnight is never an acceptable thing to do, regardless of the temperature.
If it’s too cold for you, it’s too cold for your pet!
