How Columbus Humane protects animals in winter weather

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- NBC4 Investigates has heard from many worried about animal abuse as the temperature drops and pets are left outside.  

Many times, people fear that nothing is being done, so NBC 4 went to the agents who enforce the laws. 

NBC4 Investigates found state law only covers so much and while many people call in worried about an animal outside, the law sets strict guidelines for those who enforce it. 

Columbus Humane gets hundreds of calls and they look into each one. Humane agents echo the public’s worry; however, the way state law is written doesn’t allow them to step in and take the animal right away. There are steps and a lot of it is based on education.  

Every day is different for Chief Humane Agent Jessica Scott. Some days, she responds to five calls; on others, that can be more than 20.  

"A lot of times it depends on the weather but when the temperatures drop, we definitely get a lot of shelter calls," Scott said.   

NBC4 Investigates spent a day with her last week. That week, there were 34 investigations for lack of proper shelter. That is up 14 from the same week last year.  

"Typically during winter months, we're going to see more shelter calls, so just dogs outside with access to nothing or dogs outside without access to adequate shelter," Scott said.   

NBC 4 saw one example of inadequate shelter on the ride-along.  

"An agent had responded to the call the previous day,” Scott said. “The dog was out with a wire crate that was tarped, which is not considered adequate shelter. When we responded today, the dog was no longer outside and a notice was down on the door." 

Since the dog was not outside and no one answered the door, she had to leave.  

"Personally, we would love to see every animal, you know, be inside and be with their humans and sleep on a bed every night, but we are here to enforce state and local laws," Scott said.   

The law outlines adequate shelter as four walls and animals have to be able to remove themselves from the elements. It’s inadequate shelter if a reasonable person would assume the animal would get sick or suffer as a result of the weather in their current conditions.  

"The way that we look at shelter is four walls on a roof and it needs to protect the animal from the elements, so a tarped kennel is more than likely going to get water or rain or wind or snow into it," Scott said.   

In October and November, Columbus Humane investigated 130 insufficient shelter investigations. They expect that number to keep rising as temperatures drop. 

"First thing first, call us,” Scott said. “If you can take photo or video of the concern, that's always great. We can take those photos and video and establish a pattern of negligence.” 

However, that’s not all Columbus Humane agents do. On the ride along, Scott also dropped off food and shelter as well as educating owners. 

“We did advise her that that's not considered adequate shelter and to get a doghouse if they were planning on leaving her out," Scott said about one stop.   

That led to the case being closed and Scott moving on to the next.  

Columbus Humane said photos and videos are very important when it comes to these investigations. If you are calling with a tip and can provide that visual evidence, it helps build the case to potentially seize the animal.