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Residents of an Iowa community are outraged after learning that a man who left his dog outside during record-breaking low temperatures will not face charges in the dog’s excruciating death.
Despite windchill “feels like” temperatures dipping to nearly 30-degrees below zero in the overnight hours of Monday, February 15, one Davis City, Iowa man left his dog outside.
Outside, huddled in a dog house in a desperate attempt to stay warm, the dog ultimately succumbed to the cold and passed in what was nothing short of an excruciating, confusing, and miserable death.
The dog’s owner, who remains unnamed, will not face charges in the dog’s easily avoidable death, telling KCCI 8 that Decatur County deputies told him he won’t face any charges because he showed remorse over the dog’s death. The man explained that the dog was “an outdoor hunting dog” and that he didn’t think this would happen.
And, he is allowed to retain ownership of another dog that didn’t pass.
“We have dealt with this a lot in the last few years with half frozen animals that have come into the shelter. People throw them outside in this weather and their paws are bloody. They get frostbite just like we do,” said Tracy Hill, an animal advocate that runs Animal Alliance Rescue Shelter about 40 miles from where the dog froze to death. “I just wish that everybody would learn that animals are not just property. They actually should be part of the family. I do understand that some people have outside dogs, farm dogs, and that’s fine. But they need to follow the guidelines on having adequate shelter against the elements.”
There is help available for owners of dogs kept outdoors, including organizations that provide appropriate shelter free of charge. This dog’s life could have been saved with a simple phone call.
