In the wake a dog being found frozen to death in Toledo last week, News 5 looked into the number of calls made about pets being left out in the cold in Cleveland.
The Cleveland Animal Protective League reports receiving about 50 calls in the last week regarding animals being kept outside.
The Cleveland APL’s President and CEO Sharon Harvey said it is not okay to leave pets outside right now with the freezing temperatures.
“To us, this is so common sense. It is freezing out there,” said Harvey.
However, it turns out not to be common sense to all pet owners. News 5 obtained cell phone video that the Cleveland APL shot of animals recently being left out in the cold for too long.
“Some animals are able to stay in this for a couple of days, but this has been going on for two weeks,” said Harvey, “so dogs that have been left outside, they are continuously exposed to this weather. The effects are going to be more significant.”
Most of these animals that are brought to the vet have ailments from the cold. Veterinarian Allison Lash said many have frostbite and hypothermia.
“We also see injuries from the paw pad being cracked, sometimes from the cold weather, but sometimes from the rock salt that's put up as well,” said Dr. Lash, Cleveland APL Head of Veterinary Services.
Harvey added that if your pet keeps picking its paws up off the ground, and if they're shivering, they need to come inside.
The APL also recently purchased digital infra-red monitors to check the temperature of animals and shelters outside.
“We did bring in an animal last night that did have shelter, but the dog was shivering. The dog couldn't keep its paws down. The shelter is also too large, so it was letting all the cold air in,” said Harvey.
The infra-red monitor showed it was only 10 degrees inside that dog house. Longer haired breeds obviously fare better than short hairs, but with the temperatures dropping, experts can’t stress enough to bring all of your pets inside.
“Some people think they have a fur, they'll be warm,” said Dr. Lash. “I think people have a false sense of security.”
