It’s the main type of call fielded by Kane County Animal Control throughout the winter, according to administrator Brett Youngsteadt: Someone sees someone else’s dog outside in the cold.
Youngsteadt estimated a dozen such calls so far during winter, including five or six over the past week.
A caller at 11:40 a.m. Tuesday said a dog had been left outside without food or water on the 1300 block of Summit Avenue in Aurora. But when animal control got there, the person taking the report noted the German shepherd mix had food, water and shelter and appeared healthy, Youngsteadt said.
Further information wasn’t available about the shelter, but Youngsteadt said in accordance with state law, it must be a three-sided structure with some type of bedding covering the ground.
The woman who reported the situation to animal control talked about her concerns, but asked not to be named. A man reached at the home where the German shepherd mix lives declined to provide his full name, but said the dog is fed twice a day and given fresh water, and has both a dog house with straw bedding and access to a heated garage.
Though people often contact the Humane Society about these cases, anyone who sees a dog that appears to be in trouble or hears a dog outside barking for a long time should call animal control or police, said Michelle Alexander, secretary for the Humane Society of Aurora.
“They need to advocate and be the voice for the animals,” Alexander said. “Animals can’t protect themselves. People need to stand up and help them out.”
Typically, one warden will respond to each call, Youngsteadt said.
“Usually it’s very well-meaning people that call,” Youngsteadt said, adding that he doesn’t ever want to discourage someone who is worried about an animal from calling.
The callers can’t always see everything an animal has access to, and often when animal control wardens get out to a location, owners will show them an animal is cared for, he said.
Youngsteadt said in his experience, that’s the case about nine out of 10 times, and animal control hasn’t taken any of the dogs from this year’s cold-weather calls away from their owners.
An animal may have access to a home or garage but choose not to go in, he said.
“As much as I say, ‘If it’s too cold for you it’s too cold for them,’ you also have to judge the animal,” Youngsteadt said. “Certain breeds, it’s their winter wonderland.”
Thicker-coated breeds such as malamutes and huskies may tolerate the cold better and get overheated in the summer, Youngsteadt said.
Smaller dogs generally can’t be outside as long as bigger dogs, Alexander said. She said she only lets her Chihuahuas outside for a minute or two and stays outside with them the whole time, because when they get too cold they’ll freeze.
“I just can’t imagine leaving a dog outside in this temperature,” Alexander said Wednesday, when the temperature in Aurora ranged from about 0 to 7 degrees. “When it gets this cold, there is no reason it needs to be outside.”
Alexander said she’d recommend taking extra measures below 40 degrees.
Signs a dog is too cold, as Alexander has noticed with her dogs, include moving slower, trying to keep their paws off the ground and shaking, she said.
On its website, the national Humane Society warns that cold can be deadly for pets, who are also at risk of hypothermia and frostbite. The Humane Society encourages people to first politely tell pet owners about a concern, because many people don’t realize their pets are at risk. If the neglect continues, the society has suggestions for how to report it, including taking a photo or video and making note of the time, date, location and as many details as possible about the animal and situation.
A “PetPlan” chart provided by Alexander includes guidelines for small, medium and large dogs at a range of temperatures in 5-degree intervals. For each dog size and temperature, the chart lists a risk factor between 1 and 5, which it states could be life-threatening and when owners should avoid letting their pets have prolonged outdoor activity. For the biggest dogs, the chart assigns the highest risk to temperatures 10 degrees and colder.
A public act effective January 2016 made it a class A misdemeanor under Illinois law for the owner of a cat or dog companion animal to expose the animal to prolonged extreme heat or cold conditions that are life-threatening and result in the animal’s injury or death. After the first offense, subsequent convictions are class 4 felonies.
Kane County is not home rule, so it follows the state law, which doesn’t have a specific temperature restriction, Youngsteadt said.
For animal control to take a dog away, it has to be in immediate threat of danger, and in these cases they’d have to be able to take the animal to a veterinarian to show evidence of suffering, such as frostbite or limb loss, he said.
“How we feel an animal should be taken care of is one thing,” Youngsteadt said. “What the letter of the law says is another … there’s a lot of things I wish would be a little stronger in the animal world, but that’s because I am a huge animal advocate.”
Youngsteadt’s job is to enforce laws, not write them, he said.
He encourages people to use caution and keep their pets safe and warm — and to “smother them with hugs.”
