By Angela Brown

Pet owners urged to be mindful of extreme cold

Dec 29, 2017 | 4:00 PM

Battlefords pet owners should think twice before leaving their animals outdoors in the current extreme cold, with current temperatures dropping to below -30 C most days, according to the local shelter staff. 

“In my opinion in the extreme cold weather they should not be letting their animals outside any longer than [the time] to go to the bathroom,” Battlefords Humane Society Shelter coordinator Michelle Spark said. 

Spark said there are exceptions to the rule however for bigger dogs with heavy-duty coats “built for this type of weather” such as Newfoundlands, Great Pyrenees and Saint Bernards, for example.

She said these breeds can be outside longer, but average-sized house dogs can`t safely tolerate these conditions.

“I tell my staff at the shelter: Go stand outside in just your clothes and socks on your feet – no shoes, no jacket – and see how quick you get cold,” Spark said. “That’s about how fast a dog gets cold.”

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“They don’t have winter clothes to wear,” she added. “People need to keep that in mind when they let them outside. They do get frostbite just like people do. They do get hypothermia just like people do. They need to be able to maintain their body heat.”     

Cats are an even greater concern.

Spark was adamant in saying cats should be kept indoors all the time, to ensure their safety.

“Especially in the winter,” she said. “If they are farm cats, and they are outside all the time and that’s where they live, make sure they have a place to get out of the elements.”

Last year around this time someone left a kitten and bird on the shelter’s doorsteps which, when found, were both frozen to death.

Spark said it seems people are getting the message now that most animals cannot withstand extreme cold temperatures. People put animals’ lives at risk by abandoning them, and by forcing them outside in extreme temperatures.

“So far this year we have been very fortunate,” Spark said. “No one has dropped any animals in front of our door. They have been really good about calling first before coming in, and bringing the animals into the shelter.

“I think that was a little bit of a wakeup call for people maybe,” she added, related to last year’s incident. “This year has been much better.”

Spark said a couple of cats have come to the shelter this winter with minor frostbite — one lost part of its ear, and another suffered from the skin on its paw pads blistering and sloughing off due to the freezing temperatures.   

“It can be quite painful for cats,” she said. “We had a cat last year where all four feet were so badly frozen that all of its paw pads fell off.”

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow