Animal Welfare Professionals

Are there any ordinances in place that state the temperature at which dogs must be brought inside?  We are seeing such an increase in animal control complaints this time of year and feel helpless when there is no way to protect the animals.

Hi SandersPAWS,

Most municipalities have laws governing animal care and welfare. Here is Massachusetts'. And an old, but nice article from HSUS

Sheila

Pennsylvania recently passed a law about dogs being left outside for more than 30 minutes in weather above 90 degrees, and below 32 degrees

Texas Health and Safety Code; Chapter 821 – Treatment and Disposition of Animals; Subchapter D –

Section 821.077. Unlawful Restraint of Dog

(a) An owner may not leave a dog outside and unattended by use of a restraint that unreasonably limits the dog’s movement:

(3) in the case of extreme weather conditions, including conditions in which:

(A) the actual or effective outdoor temperature is below 32 degrees

(B) A heat advisory has been issued by a local state authority or jurisdiction

...

Section 821.079. Penalty

(b) the peace officer or ACO with probable cause should provide the owner with a written statement on which the officer plainly signs, writing the date and time of offense

(c) it is a Class C misdemeanor if they do not correct the situation

(d) it is a Class B misdemeanor if they do it again

(e) each dog counts as a violation

(f) this offense may be one found under another law, they can be prosecuted under both

From an Email from

Zoonosis Control Region 7

Texas Department of State Health Services

Public Health Region 7

____________________________________________________

Our shelter brings our outside dogs inside if it drops below 40 F.

We don't have a specific temperature but our Officers have discretion on what constitutes cruel treatment and if they feel it is too cold for an animal to be outside, they can issue a citation. One of the reasons we don't put a temperature in our code is because there is such a wide variation in what is okay. A Husky may be very happy in 35 degree weather whereas a short coated dog may not. Best of luck.

I think it's very dangerous to leave it to officer discretion without some guidelines. I've been doing humane law enforcement for 20 years and think a legal framework is always best if you are going to issue citations or you risk negative outcomes in court. My suggestions is to create a range of temperatures that give an officer discretion based upon living conditions available to the animal. But there should be a non-discretionary level of unacceptable temperature without sufficient mitigation. Fortunately we rarely get extreme cold her but we do get extreme heat and weather issues. If you are going to hold people to a certain standard that standard should be published and available for review.

Similar ordinance contents here in Nashville:

...For purposes of this subsection, inclement weather conditions shall mean freezing temperatures, a heat index of ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit (95° F) or above as determined by the National Weather Service, thunderstorms, or tornados....

Believe it or not, in the City of Abbeville the code is as follows: "

(6)

The animal is not tethered outside during extreme weather including but not limited to, extreme heat, temperatures below 36 degrees Fahrenheit, snow, hail, tornadoes, thunderstorms, tropical storms or hurricanes."

I think, allowing any breed on outdoor in extreme heat is very dangerous, but for controlling the temperature I have a solution. A product called rvpetsafety it is a pet temperature monitor. I searched for so many devices to monitor the temperature for my dog. Finally, I found this rvpetsafety device. This device can monitor real-time temperature and it sends us an alert to our mobile/email using a cellular connection. It takes care of my pet when I'm not in my RV/Home. The features of this device are totally good. I suggest you try this device https://rvpetsafety.com. Now there is an offer on FB you can use this coupon code ' semar10 ' and get the discount.