Lusby, MD – Winter Storm Jonas hit Southern Maryland hard. A State of Emergency was declared, schools and government agencies were shut down, and everyone settled into their homes, ready for the blizzard to hit. However, not all living domestic creatures were inside warm houses.
A reader of TheBayNet residing in Calvert County reached out to us over the weekend. A neighbor of theirs supposedly refused to bring their dogs inside during the storm. Animal Control was contacted about the situation in the Chesapeake Ranch Estates subdivision in Lusby, but the dogs remained outside. Our reader wanted to know why.
Calvert County law states that as long as a dog is provided with adequate shelter, food and water, is not tethered and is a certain breed deemed able to survive in cold weather, the owners are complying with county ordinance as currently written.
Calvert County Animal Control Supervisor Craig Dichter told The BayNet, “We did receive a few calls and saw Facebook posts about a situation where dogs were not taken into the house during the storm. These dogs were in a kennel.”
Regarding the unavailability of Animal Control during the storm, Dichter stated, “the county government was closed and when that is the case, Animal Control does emergency calls only.” This incident was not deemed an emergency by local law enforcement.
The law has specific regulations in place to ensure the well-being of animals, yet residents still have concerns over if those regulations are enough.
Should the law be revised to state that animals must be brought indoors during harsh weather conditions? What do you think? Contact Barbara Muller at b.muller@thebaynet.com