Louisiana Humane Society director Jeff Dorson says the arrival of very cold winter weather has led to a sharp increase in calls about pets left outside without adequate shelter.
“It’s just so disturbing how many calls we are getting starting at four in the morning of dogs tied to trees or under a shed or tied to a pole with nothing” :10
State law requires pet owners to provide proper food, water, and shelter, but more than half of Louisiana’s parishes don’t have animal control agencies to enforce the laws, so Dorson says many complaints are overlooked or never investigated. He says that is the norm in parishes without animal control agencies.
“Even if the police and sheriff go there, dog tied to a tree, they want to arrest the owners and seize the dog, they have no place to put it,” Dorson said.
According to the Humane Society, animals can suffer from frostbite, hypothermia, and even freeze to death. The Humane Society also asks large animal owners to provide them with access to lean-tos, stalls, sheds, or barns.
He says neglected animals in the parishes with animal control agencies do better than those without if their owners get a complaint.
“When animal control shows up they can cite them, they can give them a summons to go to court, they can give them a warning, they can take the animal,” Dorson said.
Owners who are found in violation can face fines and even up to six months in jail. However, the Humane Society says most first time offenders pay only modest fines, are placed on unsupervised probation, and rarely serve any jail time.
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