CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Ahead of the winter weather Thursday, Corpus Christi Animal Care Services prepared for calls regarding animals left out in the cold. Thursday, the crews were out responding to those calls.
“They were proactively out in the field, responding to calls real-time for calls of service for dogs left outside, or even somebody calling thinking there was an animal left outside,” said program manager Joel Skidmore. “They were responding and handling those.”
Skidmore said officers responded to 51 calls Thursday into Friday, and issued 43 citations, which he said was typical for a cold night in the city.
“The requirement is if the temperature drops or feels below 32 degrees, it’s required by our city ordinance for the animal to be brought inside,” he said.
Skidmore said a good rule of thumb to remember is if you are cold, your pets are likely cold.
“It’s just being aware, make sure you’re factoring in your animals for weather preparation,” he said.
Crews also brought in one stray dog, one who Skidmore said was very pregnant.
“A good citizen called in that she was a stray,” Skidmore said. “She is very sweet, we were able to get her in, she’s already been seen by our medical staff, and she’s just kind of in this room where it’s quiet, because again, she’s very pregnant, and we just want to make sure she’s comfortable.”
The operational plan Animal Care Services operated with was a modified version of how they operated during last February’s freeze.
“We’re capable, and the officers we have are capable of operating under any condition,” Skidmore said.
Skidmore said Animal Care Services will be on-call Friday again to monitor for animals left out in the cold.
