COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — During the area's current sub-freezing cold spell, many citizens are watching out not only for their pets, but also for the pets of their neighbors.
That heightened concern kept animal law enforcement officers busy this weekend.
Since Friday, more than 60 calls of concern regarding pets being left outside in the cold have come in to El Paso County's Division of Animal Law Enforcement — an agency that also covers Pueblo and Douglas counties, and the town of Centennial in Arapahoe County.
We're told that number of calls is higher than normal, but not unexpected in such cold weather.
Animal officers say that the concern is for pets — mostly dogs — in doghouses or elsewhere in neighbor's yards.
“The wind is the most dangerous part of it, because it makes the weather much more cold,” says Sgt. Nicole Michon. “So, we're advising pet owners to bring their dogs inside, or look at ways of trying to insulate your doghouse a little bit more. But mostly, just being inside is going to be the best key.”
The 60-plus calls about dogs — and even one cat — resulted in no citations because officers prefer to educate owners.
However, serious or repeat offenses can result in a cruelty to animals charge.
Officers say that it's not always easy to determine whether owners have intentionally left their pets out in the cold. forgotten to bring them in, or are simply are unaware of the risk.
“We don't know how long the dog has been outside,” Michon says. “The neighbor may have kind of a rough estimate of how long the dog has been outside. But unless they've been watching the dog from the minute it exited the house to the minute it goes back in, they don't know the exact amount of time.”
To make officers' jobs easier, they ask that you try to provide them with specific details when you call them with a pet concern.
“The address of where the dog resides, the size and the breed of the dog, if you're seeing any doghouse, and how long you believe they've been outside,” Michon says.
Also, remember that some dogs can handle cold weather better than others; pay attention to how your dog behaves in cold weather — If it looks cold, it probably is.
And it's OK to dress your dog in clothes as long as you keep them dry.
Thankfully, no pets were found dead, injured or sick in the responses by officers this weekend, with Monday night expected to be the last in the current cold wave.
