Jefferson City prepared to impound pets left outside in cold

Officers with the Jefferson City Police Department worked to notify pet owners Tuesday that animals should be brought inside during the expected bitter cold, or else the city could impound them at the animal shelter.

According to city ordinance, animals left out in life-threatening conditions can be seized by the city and put in the Jefferson City Animal Shelter.

“We’re not doing this to punish the owners, we’re doing this for the health and well-being of the animals,” said JCPD Lt. Chad Stieferman. He said no animals have been seized in 2019, and that pet owners are normally receptive to reminders of the rule and promptly bring their animals inside.

There are several factors when considering whether someone’s pet is in life-threatening condition, Stieferman said, but weather is a common one.

“Anytime the NWS issues a warning — whether it’s for a tornado, severe thunderstorm, heat, cold — the shelter ordinance takes effect,” Stieferman said.

Jessica Thiele, a veterinarian with the shelter, said extreme cold can give animals frostbite and that their tolerance depends on their size, weight and other factors, much like humans.

Some effects of the cold include, “devitalizing of tissues, extremities, ears, tails, things like that. That can definitely, obviously be painful,” Thiele said.

Stieferman said 20 people have been given citations by the city for animal housing violations, but that the city did not track how many animals they have impounded. He said, though, that police rarely need to impound an animal to get them out of the cold.

“I think most people are pretty cognizant of, ‘it’s cold outside, I need to bring my animal in,’ so thankfully, we don’t see a lot of bad cases like that,” Thiele said.