OKC residents must bring dogs inside during freezing weather, according to new ordinance

Oklahoma City now can take action when residents leave their dog outdoors in freezing temperatures after the city council approved emergency adoption of a new ordinance Tuesday.

If the temperature is 32 degrees or colder, the ordinance states dog owners cannot leave their dogs outside for more than 30 minutes. Exceptions will be made for dogs that have access to a safe, heated structure, and Animal Welfare Superintendent Jon Gary said officers will use discretion in cases of breeds that can better tolerate cold weather.

Violations could result in up to $500 in fines, though Gary said that would be a last resort.

More: How to keep your pets and other animals safe in cold weather

"We're not going to knock on people's doors and say, 'Hey, it's 31 degrees outside, your dog's been out there longer than 30 minutes, here's your $500 fine,'" Gary said. "We really are just trying to make sure that we're able to protect the animals that need to be protected. … I suspect that very few citations will actually be written."

Freezing dogs became a problem in OKC

Now that the ordinance is in place, animal welfare officers can exercise authority before it's too late for the animal, Gary said.

Animal Welfare began working on the ordinance and related research after receiving a spike in calls regarding dogs left out in the cold during last February's record-setting winter storm, Gary said.

The department averages 200 to 300 calls per month, but on Feb. 8-13, 2021, animal welfare received 344 calls, Gary said. There was another spike during this month's winter weather, with 75 calls coming in Feb. 2 and 3, and 141 calls Feb. 6-8, he said.

"It's been an issue for far longer than last year," Gary said. "But last year, the extreme temperatures … made us understand that we really needed to do something."

Last year, one dog froze to death and two others needed medical attention by the time officers could do something, he said.

OKC councilor fears dog ordinance won't have desired positive impact

While the ordinance was passed unanimously by the city council, Ward 6 Councilor JoBeth Hamon said she regrets not asking more questions and hopes to amend or rescind the ordinance.

Not because she wants dogs left out in the cold, but because she thinks there could be better solutions. In a Twitter thread, she called the ordinance a "punitive solution" because of the possible fines.

Hamon told The Oklahoman Wednesday the new law doesn't get to the root of the problem, which is a lack of education for dog owners. She is also concerned that with the current staffing and response time issues in the Animal Welfare department, the ordinance won't change much.

"This just, to me, gives people who are concerned about the issue a way to feel absolved," Hamon said.

In an interview with The Oklahoman last July, Gary said his small staff of 14 officers and two cruelty investigators struggle getting to many calls in a timely fashion.

With calls relating to this ordinance, Gary said the first step taken will be to ask questions of the caller to determine the seriousness of the situation. If an officer does show up, they will let the dog owner know about the ordinance and ask them to bring the dog inside.

"I believe most people will comply and do what's right to help protect their animal," Gary said.

Concerns about how fast the OKC dog ordinance was rushed through

Hamon said she feels the process was rushed, having not known that Animal Welfare was working on an ordinance until seeing the agenda for Tuesday's meeting.

Because it was presented for emergency adoption, councilors did not have the usual opportunity to hear feedback from constituents, which often leads to more questions and amendments before ordinances are adopted.

Gary said it isn't typical for his department to ask for emergency adoption of ordinances, but it did so because of how long the process had already taken and the fact that below freezing temperatures are expected as early as Thursday.

While coming up with the ordinance, Gary said his department relied on their head veterinarian for input, who said 32 degrees would be the best temperature to start requiring dogs to have proper shelter.

Dr. Amanda Elmenhorst, medical director for the Oklahoma Humane Society, told The Oklahoman earlier this month that the dogs most at risk when temperatures drop to or below freezing are those with short or thin hair, puppies or elderly dogs, as well as those with low body fat percentages.

What about OKC dog owners that are homeless?

In addition to being concerned about fines, Hamon said some of the ordinance's language concerns her.

The ordinance does not make it clear that different dog breeds can tolerate different temperatures. Instead, this will be left up to officer discretion.

It also specifies that a car is not adequate shelter for a dog in freezing temperatures, which Hamon said immediately made her think about dog owners who also may be homeless.

Hamon said she's not sure it was intentionally "directed at people that might be living out of their cars," but it does concern her.

Gary said this was included because a car in cold weather, if not running, "can act as a refrigerator."

Oklahoma City dog owners who use cars to shelter their dog from weather are a mixture of housed and unhoused residents, Gary said.

"Each situation we'll look at (individually)," Gary said. "But we wanted our residents to know the car in and of itself wasn't enough."

Hamon said she would like to see more specific language that protects people in ambiguous situations.

"Very well-intentioned policies can be passed that have unintended consequences," Hamon said. "Maybe now we have a great animal welfare department … but 20 years from now, what does that look like? And so not having some something explicit is just a concern."

Hamon said she plans to follow up with other councilors and city staff to see what can be done.

She would like to see a solution that emphasizes education and increasing resources for both Animal Welfare and dog owners.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: New OKC ordinance requires dogs be inside during freezing weather