City fielding calls for dogs left in heat
SAN ANTONIO – Early June has brought record-setting heat to San Antonio, and we haven’t even reached the true dog days of summers.
The city’s Animal Care Services is making sure pets are being kept safe.
"How long have they been outside, ma'am?" ACS Ofc. Joel Skidmore asks a homeowner on the city’s south side.
He and his team spotted several puppies in a cage in the woman’s front yard. She says the puppies have been there about an hour.
"Leaving the puppies in any type of sunlight for an hour is an hour too long,” Ofc. Skidmore says.
With record heat this week, ACS officers are responding to calls citywide.
"The animal's wearing a fur coat,” Ofc. Skidmore says. “It's going to heat up faster than us."
ACS is fielding multiple calls a day for pets left in cars.
"In a matter of minutes, they can overheat and die,” Ofc. Skidmore says.
He explains city law for pets that are left outside.
"The dog has to be provided with shelter. Has to be provided with water at all times,” Ofc. Skidmore says.
And the shelter has to have shade - otherwise, “basically you’ve provided an oven for the dog,” Ofc. Skidmore says.
At the south side home, officers found the puppies left in the cage are not in distress. But the owner did get cited for not having her dogs microchipped.
"We talked to her, educated her,” Ofc. Skidmore says.
Fox San Antonio spoke with the pet owner off camera and she told us she did learn a lesson about how a dog’s shelter needs shade.
ACS made sure she brought the puppies inside.
"Nobody wants their animal to suffer like that,” Ofc. Skidmore says.
By EMILY BAUCUM
