Cold temps can be rough on dogs

AURORA | With temperatures in Aurora parked in the single digits, local animal advocates are asking pet owners to make sure their pets are inside, out of the cold.

And if that’s not an option for a pet owner, they need to at the very least make sure their dog has adequate warm shelter outside and plenty of unfrozen water to drink, said Chris Gallegos, a spokesman for the Denver Dumb Friends League.

The League regularly issues advice and warnings for pet owners when the temperatures dip below freezing like they are this week. Gallegos said it should be common sense to make sure a pet isn’t left outside without shelter, but reminders help.

“It is a necessary reminder for people who may not be familiar with Colorado’s weather,” he said.

It is illegal under Colorado law to leave a pet outside without adequate water and shelter, Gallegos said.

If people see an animal outside who doesn’t have shelter or water, they should call local animal control, he said.

In Aurora, the city’s animal care division can be reached at 303-326-8288. Officers are available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. The division is closed on Sundays and holidays.

If there is animal involved in a life-threatening situation after-hours, the city asks people to call 303-627-3100, the police department’s non-emergency number. Dispatchers there will contact the on-call Animal Care Officer to respond to urgent-only calls.

Cheryl Conway, a spokeswoman for the city’s animal care division, said that calls to animal care are actually down Wednesday compared to a typical day. That’s common, Conway said, because when the weather is as cold as it is Wednesday, dogs tend to hunker down, out of sight, and people tend to stay indoors.

As of midday, dispatch had received 10 calls about dogs outside in a neighbor’s yard, she said.

“So far it doesn’t appear that any of the dogs reported are at risk – all have shelter and appear to be the type of dog that are bred specifically for cold and snowy climates,” she said.

Conway said pet owners who violate the law regarding adequate shelter and water can face as much as a $1,000 fine and up to one year in jail.

Early this week, before the winter weather socked in the metro area with a few inches of snow and temperatures barely warmer than zero, the city’s animal care division issued a list of tips for keeping pets comfortable in cold weather.

Those tips include: making sure the doghouse is free from drafts and waterproof, that the doghouse is elevated a few inches off the ground to ward off some of the cold, and that the dog has water that isn’t frozen and that the dog’s coat is properly groomed because matted fur doesn’t protect a dog form the cold.