How to keep your pets safe during this weekend’s winter storm

CHARLOTTE, NC — Now is the time to start thinking about everyone in your family, including your pets.

If you have outdoor pets bring them inside. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care & Control says if your animal normal lives outside, now is the time to make an exception. Their safety depends on it.

If you absolutely cannot bring your pet inside, there are a few things you can do to make this wintry blast more bearable and safer like creating dry, draft-free shelter that is elevated off the ground. Do not use blankets, those can get wet and trap moisture, instead use dry straw or wood shavings.

Feed your animals more often because they burn more calories in cold weather to stay warm.

Also, keep your dogs paws clean. Ice melt can irritate their skin and if they lick it off, the animals can get sick. Be sure to wipe off their paws after a walk.

“Dawn is always great to use because it’s safe for pets or just a really mild soap and water and just wipe the paws down. Really good with that. That way they’re not licking the paws, because if they lick the paws to clean them themselves, then they may get some of that ice melt,” explained Melissa Knicely.

As of Wednesday, ACC hasn’t decided if they will close this weekend. Either way, they aren’t expecting a lot of adoptions this weekend, so they are hoping more people will bring a dog home for a few days to clear some shelter room. They are calling it a snow-cation.