So, my toy poodle is a good sport and happily wears jackets all winter long. She has been wearing multiple layers, and I let her out to pee and then immediately back in again. She appears to be waiting for #2 until the weather changes...northern IN, no problem. We are forecast to be above freezing by Monday, even though it's -16 right now. My Dane, though, acts like she is being tortured if a sweater or coat is put on her. She does like the cold, but is limited to two minutes of outside time per session. She spends most of this time eating snow.
Mhina, the toy poodle, stays pretty much exclusively on the front porch, shielded from the wind. She is 5.5 pounds and in renal failure, so poor body condition. I worry more about her than I do the Dane, who is hale and hearty and would stay out longer--but I understand that dogs can get hypothermia and frostbite too, and that her paw pads could freeze easily if she were allowed longer time outside.
We play find-the-treat and use food puzzle toys to keep the Dane occupied since she is used to daily walks, Mhina just sleeps and grooms herself for the most part. Right now Mimsy (Dane) is enjoying the southern sun and suckling on her blanket.
Local animal control has been seizing animals left out in the cold if owners refused to bring them in. The local humane society is offering free boarding for pets that cannot come inside. Unfortunately, due to local politics, they cover mutually exclusive areas--so if you wanted to board your outdoor-only pet to prevent animal control from seizing it, you are not able to do so--but it sounds like a/c is being reasonable and only seizing animals after trying to work with the owners to provide adequate shelter during these super sub-zero temps. Unfortunately, the usual dog houses, even insulated, just aren't enough when it gets this cold. Many of us are worried about local feral colonies--many of those cats physically cannot be brought inside. They are unhandleable to begin with and would be desperately unhappy, confined against their will. I know a few feral managers have free-standing garages where they've set up a heater or two in addition to cat houses, because again, the usual tricks aren't sufficient.
There have, unfortunately, been a few local reports of animals freezing to death. For the most part I think people have been adequately warned and equipped, though. It helps that there's no grey area with this deep cold...people understand that if they are outside for more than ten minutes with unprotected skin, frostbite can occur. They understand the same is true of animals. There was a local car crash where the driver was ejected from the vehicle and survived the crash but died of the elements before being found. This isn't mess-around-with weather. You can't debate your way out of it by saying your dog has a double coat. It's colder here than Antarctica so having Siberian Husky heritage isn't all that helpful. I think honestly we have a harder time convincing people to be humane during less extreme cold, when it won't kill your animal but it's definitely not comfortable.
#General