An animal charity says the ‘Beast from the East’ weather system has claimed its first victim.
Laois-based Cara Rescue Dogs says a person found their dog dead on Monday morning sitting outside the back door. It says this was despite the fact they had a small wooden dog box, which they felt was sufficient to keep the dog warm outside.
“The unfortunate owner is not a bad person they simply thought it was OK”. It adds that the owner had planned on bringing the dog in when the snow arrived.
“But sadly the freezing temperature last night claimed the dogs life.” It is urging people to bring their pets overnight as temperatures continue to fall.
Cara Rescue Dogs was set up in 2011. People are being reminded to take care of animals during the coming week.
With snow and very cold weather forecast, some simple things to remember are
- Bring pets inside if you can.
- If you cannot bring them inside make sure that they have extra bedding – rabbits with extra straw, dogs in kennels with extra blankets, etc.
- Make sure they have access to fresh and unfrozen water.
- Move horses closer to access points and put out extra feed.
The DSPCA says just because a pet has a warm fur coat does not mean it cannot feel the cold.
