Here's how to help animals you see left out in the cold

By LINDA M. LINONIS

linonis@vindy.com

Humane agencies in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties report a marked increase in the number of calls about the welfare of outside dogs and cats in the frigid weather.

Shalyse Bolash, director of Animal Charity, said the agency has received about 40 calls so far this week regarding animals left outside with “no food, water or shelter.”

Animal Charity has two humane agents who investigate; Tuesday, they will be appointed by a probate judge and be able to file cruelty charges.

Bolash said people who see an outside dog with inadequate shelter are encouraged to report it. She stressed the importance of providing the house number and street name, including a brief description of the animal. Bolash said the caller’s name and phone number is confidential and used by the humane agent to verify an address or get more information.

The director said the humane agents have food, water and straw with them to immediately help animals in distress. Each incident is unique. “It varies by situation. ... It depends on the condition of an animal,” she said.

“An emaciated dog with no shelter would be seized immediately,” Bolash said, adding the humane agent would leave a notice at the residence. Animal-cruelty charges would be filed.

In another case, a one-day warning might be left for the pet owner to improve conditions.

Bolash said the humane agency does monitor social media sites and gleans some information there. But she urged people to call the appropriate humane agency and provide detailed information in order to help animals. “People can also send a private message on our Facebook page,” she said.

Bolash and Kerry Pettit, executive director of Animal Welfare League in Trumbull County, both said the laws concerning standards for animal care need to be upgraded. “The way the law is now, it’s vague,” Bolash said.

“We need better laws to protect animals,” Pettit said, adding her suggestion would be that outside animals such as dogs, cats and rabbits must be brought indoors when the temperature goes below a certain number.

Bolash and Pettit said makeshift shelters for outside animals comply with the law “to provide shelter” but aren’t adequate by humane agency standards. Jill Halligan, outreach and development coordinator with Humane Society of Columbiana, added “it may not be nice, but it’s not considered inhumane by Ohio law.”

Dog houses and shelters for outdoor cats should be elevated off the ground because of snow and water. Straw is the best bedding; it provides insulation. Blankets get wet and freeze. The shelter should be protected from the wind, with the door facing east or south. The entrance should be off-center so the dog can curl up in the corner, protected from precipitation and drafts. Animals must have access to unfrozen water.

“Animals should be fed a few small meals,” Bolash said, adding it should be 15 percent more food because animals need more nutrition in cold weather.

“We want to educate people and work with them to improve conditions,” Halligan said. But if animals are in dire distress, they will be seized.

Halligan said the society does use social media. It put out a request on its Facebook page for straw and got feedback but the society is waiting to get donations of straw and funds to buy it.

Halligan noted the Columbiana non-profit organization is working to get out of debt.

Read more on the situation in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.