Protecting your pets from the summer heat
FLORENCE — FLORENCE (WPDE) — As the weather gets warmer, Florence County animal control officers want to remind you your pets need more care.
They say some animals are left in the heat with no water and in many cases they die from heat exhaustion.
Herbie Christmas is the director of Florence County Environmental Services, which includes animal control.
He says a dog was neglected by its owner two weeks ago.
The dog was left outside without water and a halter used to contain the puppy grew into its skin.
Just imagine as a if you were to take a child and put a rubber band around its neck and allow the child to grow up and that rubber band just physically grows into the childs neck and flesh. Thats the equivalency of what we have here. Across the board this was just a bad case of owner neglect and animal cruelty, said Christmas.
The dog has been treated by a veterinarian and is doing fine. He has been placed in a rescue home and is expected to be adopted to a family in a matter of days.
The dogs owner, Walter Washington, was found guilty of animal cruelty and fined $565.
Christmas says last summer, they investigated about 10 to 15 cases of animal neglect a day. In a few of the cases, the dogs actually died because they were left in the heat with no water.
Christmas said, Thats two that we know of. I cant imagine the number of animals that perished last summer that went unreported.
He reminds pet owners that outdoor pets need fresh water at least twice a day and shade to keep cool.
Christmas says you also need to make sure your pets water is also in the shade so it stays as cool as possible.
A lot of peoples going, Its just a dog, its just a cat or horse or whatever the case may be. They dont take into consideration its a living creature, said Christmas.
(This story courtesy WPDE and CarolinaLive.com)