VIDEO: Dogs Left Outside At Shelter During Frigid Temps
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Sauk Rapids police are investigating a local dog shelter after receiving reports that several animals were left outside in subzero temperatures for nearly an hour.
Central Minnesota Animal Care and Control (or CMACC) is privately-owned and takes in stray animals from surrounding cities and counties. On Tuesday, when the temperature was 31 degrees below zero, a concerned citizen says they took a video, claiming the dogs were outside for nearly an hour.
Leslie Parris says when she arrived at work Tuesday morning, her walk indoors was a struggle. So she says she couldn't imagine what the dogs outside the animal shelter next door were going through.
"It was really heart-breaking. I'd never experienced that kind of cold before," Parris said. "I heard another co-worker say for 20 minutes she had been knocking on the doors and trying to get somebody's attention."
The video Parris took on her cell phone showed some dogs with frost on their faces.
"I was in shock. Panicked. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to help them," Parris said. "The puppy was standing on its hind legs just begging. There was nothing I could do."
When they couldn't get a hold of anyone inside, Parris and her co-worker called the police. She says it was another 20 minutes before an officer got a hold of the owner. She thinks the dogs were outside in minus 50 degree windchill for 50 minutes or more.
Administrator Lisa Tenter says one of her workers let the animals outside while she cleaned the kennels, and didn't hear knocks on the door. She showed us the dogs and said they're in good health.
"It's a heartfelt thing for me. Shameful to have it happen, but it happened and I take full responsibility," Tenter said.
Tenter is disputing how long the dogs were left in the cold but admits it was still too long. After WCCO's interview with her, Tenter put a message on the shelter's Facebook page saying she had fired the worker responsible and was resigning herself.
