I live in Fruitland Maryland and I have neighbors that on multiple occasions neglect their dogs and nothing is being done about it. They have two short haired pit mixes in a small gated area with ONE dog hut inside said area and have never been out of their cage. This usually wouldn't bother me because its better than being in a kill shelter HOWEVER for the past three weeks it has been consistent below freezing temperatures outside and the dogs are still sitting in their outdoor crate.
When calling Animal Control and the Humane Society they claim they will "look into it" and hang up and then nothing is done. When I called the police during a hail storm after animal control hours (while they were STILL outside) their response was "even though the dogs' housing was not up to my moral standards they followed the Fruitland regulations." This has inspired me to start this petition to change Fruitland's laws.
My thought is this, if i cant stand outside in three pairs of socks, pants, sweater and full winter gear for 5 minutes....they shouldn't have to be caged in that condition overnight. This petition is not for just these dogs. It's to make it illegal for all owners to take responsibility for their outside animals during extreme conditions.
My goal is to get as many signatures as I can to make it illegal to keep animals outside during below freezing and extreme temperatures and if someone is found guilty of this to be fined $1,000 and to have their animals permanently removed from their care. Please sign to save an innocent animals life this winter.
