Winter Safety Tips for Your Furry Friends
ZANESVILLE, OH – We’ve experienced our first snowfall of the winter this week and the Animal Shelter Society wants to make sure you have a plan for your furry friend.
April Gibson, the Executive Director, says if you have an outdoor box or home for your pet it’s important not to put things like blankets or towels inside because the animal could freeze to the material.
She recommends using straw as an alternative and if you are in need of some, they have straw available for pick up at the Shelter.
“We’ve made it even more convenient for you, we put it in a small building, out front. If you need to acquire that after hours and you haven’t prepared or you’re busy, just come out and get what you need.” Gibson said. “We’d really like to see you though between those 9 and 4 hours, but we’re going to assist you with this, so just keep that in mind. The other thing is, remember the 3 things in the State of Ohio so there’s no neglect or abuse situation with your animal, that’s food, that’s shelter, and that’s water. If you have a bowl that continues to freeze, it could cause a problem, don’t rely on cricks, streams, and ponds and that for water, you have to supply that water.”
Gibson also says it’s a good idea to tap on your vehicle’s hood before you head anywhere this winter. She says she had a kitten come into the Shelter from Guernsey County after it had snuck into a car’s engine looking for warmth.
She also shared that this year the Animal Shelter Society has stopped selling dog tags for the County Auditor.
“Due to an expense, a great expense to the Animal Shelter, we are no longer selling Dog Tags for the Muskingum County Auditor or the Muskingum County K-9 Center.” Gibson said. “All of those funds go to them and we were a huge resource, I think we were probably the biggest satellite that they had. So now we don’t have to have that extra staff, being 100% non-profit and doing that, it was extremely expensive for us and it was just a financial decision we had to make.”
The Shelter is currently in need of liquid laundry detergent, 6% bleach, cat litter, as well as Purina Food, preferably no beef.
If you are interested in reaching out to the Animal Shelter Society about straw or for more information, you can head to their website.
