Animal Control wants pets safe in cold

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - An average day for Animal Control consists of call after call, a lot of door knocking and some sad conditions.

News 10 followed Code Enforcement Officer Jamie Ennen, on a complaint about general animal care.

"They have to have water at all times.  There's no kind of anything to keep them warm.  You need to put straw in the dog house for them to keep warm.  The pen has to be clean of feces," Ennen said.

Officials remind everyone to check water often, since it can freeze during the colder winter weather.

"Just make sure you're animal is comfortable. If it gets really cold--get to where its in the negatives or in the low numbers--you need to bring your animal inside if possible," she said.

In this circumstance, another officer already picked the dog up and took her to a shelter.

"If you can't get the issue resolved, we will cite them for court citations.  We will take their animal, and they won't get it back until the judge gives the okay," she said.

Ennen goes on between 15 and 20 calls a day.

She sees about two or three situations like this a week.

"It makes me upset, makes me angry," she vented.

Another troubling call came in during our time spent with her: dogs living in their own feces, without water.

"They'll clean it up, and we'll come back a couple months later and it'll be in the same situation," she said.

We arrived to the scene of a bound dog.

Officers say animals should not be tethered for more than a couple hours.

Terre Haute hasn't seen the worst of the cold, dangerous temperatures to come, but according to Ennen, that doesn't mean you should be aware of your pet's problems when that weather hits.

"I don't think people think about how hard it is on an animal.  When it's cold and have no way to get warm," she said.

Officers want your help to work less cases like these as conditions get colder.

It is a city ordinance to have your cats and dogs licensed.

Both cats and dogs aren't allowed to run loose.

Come spring, officers plan on cracking down on the stray cat population.