Especially cold temperatures blasted through Richland County last week in what meteorologists called a Polar Vortex. The cold not only affected humans, but their pets as well.
Humane Society of Richland County Supervisor Missy Houghton was pleased with how the residents of Richland County responded to making sure pets were well taken care of during the bitter weather conditions.
“Overall, it was very positive. A lot of people were out making sure their dogs and cats were properly taken care of or put inside the home,” said Houghton.
Dogs that are at the Humane Society were only allowed to be outside during the freezing temperatures for five minutes.
Houghton revealed that throughout the cold temperatures, the Humane Society received about 50 phone calls regarding pets being outdoors. Houghton explained that of the 50 calls, five of the pets were requested to be taken indoors and three were removed from the home and taken to the Humane Society.
She said that three agents, one who was in training, were out reporting to calls throughout the day Tuesday.
“Usually we respond to calls on Tuesday’s and Friday’s, but last week we responded on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Tuesday, we worked about 11 hours and we traveled all over the county,” said Houghton. No one was cited during the week.
Unfortunately, Houghton reported that there was one fatality of a cat. “We got a call on Wednesday night that was a cat on a porch of a home. The cat was believed to be a stray and it did pass away,” said Houghton.
Houghton noted that the Ohio law doesn’t state a set temperature that is required to take pets indoors. “We really prefer all animals to be indoors because it is better for them. We also ask to make sure the animal always has accessible water and make sure if the animal is to be left outdoors, we ask owners to make sure to double the intake of food because the animals burn more calories when outside,” said Houghton.
The Humane Society requests that concerned citizens should try and call year round about pets that may be neglected.
“We would like people to call us throughout the year about concerns regarding pets. It is helpful for us to know beforehand and we can always do a checkup on the animal when we are in that area,” said Houghton.
According to MSN Weather, another arctic blast may occur but the cold will not comparison to the brutally cold temperatures of last week. If an animal is to be left outdoors, by law, shelter must be provided to the animal. The shelter must have four sides, a roof, and a bottom, It also must have straw or cedar ship for bedding. Flaps are to be placed over the door of the shelter to protect from wind.
