December
9, 2005
OKLAHOMA
CITY -- As the temperatures dropped the past few days, Oklahoma
City animal control forces rose to make sure people were taking
care of their pets.
NewsChannel
4 has learned that the cold is claiming dog's lives and some
dog owners are in a lot more than the dog house. NewsChannel 4 went
along with animal control officers on a special rescue mission.
Jim
Beisel knows having dogs means caring for them."They're absolutely
members of the family," Beisel says.As members of the family,
they are treated accordingly with a doggie door to warmth, food,
and constant water.
Unfortunately,
during this cold snap, animal control is seeing the other side.
On Wednesday they had two calls regarding dogs that died in freezing
temperatures.
"We
found a dog that was near death and a dog that had already expired
at the same address," says Beisel. "Later that day we
also found another resident that had three dogs. They had expired
because of the weather and because of lack of care."
In
both cases arrests were made. Leander Wallace and Barbara Robbins
face charges of animal cruelty, which can mean jail time and or
a hefty fine.
"It's
just like you being outside without a coat on. It's hard on the
animals. They require food, water, and shelter; especially shelter."
Something,
dog owners like Jim can't believe people don't know
"What
would I say to pet owners that aren't taking care of their dogs?
'I don't think it's any different than child abuse. You have that
responsibility.'"
Animal
control wants to remind people during cold weather that animals
must have water. And keep it mind, it can freeze so you need to
check it. Of course they need food and their shelter needs to be
water and windproof. Their shelter needs to be big enough for the
animal, but not too big that the dog's body heat can't warm the
space.
Unheated garages and outbuildings don't qualify as cold weather
shelter.
Copyright
2005 KFOR-TV-DT.
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