Adequate Outdoor Dog Shelters: Legal Requirements and Best Practices
Ensuring adequate outdoor shelter for dogs is a crucial aspect of animal welfare. This article examines the legal landscape surrounding dog shelter requirements, highlighting variations in state laws, challenges in enforcement, and model ordinances that provide comprehensive protection for our canine companions.
Providing adequate shelter for dogs left outdoors for long periods of time is one of the most important and frustrating issues for animal advocates. In periods of extreme heat or cold, cruelty hotlines are bombarded with calls from neighbors rightfully concerned about dogs without adequate protection from the elements.
The kind of shelter that needs to be provided varies by state. In some states, the requirements for size, structure and building materials are quite specific. In others, the requirement is undefined and therefore it can be harder to know when the law is violated. In many places, local ordinances have more stringent shelter requirements than state law.
Case Study: Pennsylvania
Let’s take Pennsylvania as an example. In 2017, Pennsylvania animal advocates celebrated the passage of Libre’s Law, an omnibus statute that grouped together several bills that previously had been introduced as separate animal protection measures. It was touted as so comprehensive that it was referred to collectively as the “Animal Abuse Statute Overhaul” bill.
Libre’s Law accomplished many things including creating a new offense of aggravated cruelty to animals, raising offense levels for many other cruelty offenses, granting limited immunity to humane society police officers and veterinarians and creating restrictions on tethering dogs outside. But it did nothing to update the shelter requirement for dogs left outdoors.
The standard for outdoor shelter remained: access to clean and sanitary shelter which will protect the animal against inclement weather and preserve the animal’s body heat and keep it dry. The law had no specifications about the size or quality of the shelter and proving whether a dogs body heat is being preserved is difficult because it is truly individual based on a dogs breed, age and condition. This general language fails to provide adequate protection to dogs left outdoors for hours on end in subfreezing temperatures and when wind and precipitation may be an issue.
Tethering Restrictions and Their Limitations
Tethered dogs are of great concern. They are unable to protect themselves from the weather. They are sometimes unable to access food or water. They can be in danger because of the size and type of tether or chain used to restrain them. They can become dangerous from the mental frustration of hours (or months or years) of being chained up. So, dealing with tethering is important. Libre’s Law strengthened the statute to provide that tethering for more than nine hours, or more than 30 minutes if the temperature is below 32 degrees or above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, may constitute neglect under the cruelty statute.
But many dogs left outdoors are not tethered so the tethering restrictions do them no good. The only protection from the elements afforded to them is the general requirement to provide clean and sanitary shelter. So, how do we ensure truly humane treatment for dogs left outdoors in extreme weather?
Local Ordinances Can Provide Greater Protections
In states like Pennsylvania with powerful agricultural or hunting lobbies, getting tougher rules on shelter for dogs kept outdoors can be challenging. In addition, opponents often argue that all breeds don’t have the same requirements for protection from the cold.This is where local ordinances can often be easier to pass and can provide dogs with greater protections.
For example, when the City of Philadelphia enacted a local ordinance providing greater protections for dogs left outdoors in extreme weather, it specified with great detail the type of shelter that would be necessary in order to leave a dog outdoors in a Code Blue or Code Red situation. To avoid a fine, the shelter must comply with the following requirements:
(.1) It shall be of a suitable size to accommodate the dog in both standing and lying positions;
(.2) It shall be moisture-proof, windproof, ventilated, and in cold temperatures shall promote the retention of body heat;
(.3) It shall be made of durable material with a solid, moisture- proof floor raised at least two inches from the ground;
(.4) It shall have a sufficient quantity of suitable clean bedding material consisting of hay, straw, cedar shavings or the equivalent to provide insulation and protection against cold and dampness;
(.5) Drinking water is available in a clean, liquid state. Snow or ice is not an acceptable water source;
(.6) The doghouse or similar structure and the surrounding area shall be free from excessive dirt, trash and waste;
(.7) In Code Blue and Code Grey situations (relating to extreme cold temperatures), in addition to the requirements set forth in subsections (3)(a) (.1) through (.6), the doghouse or similar structure shall have a windbreak at the entrance; and
(.8) In Code Red situations (relating to extreme heat), in addition to the requirements set forth in subsections (3)(a) (.1) through (.6), all dogs must be afforded one or more separate areas of shade large enough to accommodate the entire body of the dog at one time and protect it from the direct rays of the sun.?
Philadelphia City Code ¤ 10-114.
Many people elect to bring their dogs inside rather than invest in compliant housing. The city ordinance is better for dogs but the inability to seize a dog under the ordinance limits its utility and, of course, it applies only to dogs living within the city limits
States The Do Better For Dogs
Some states offer much better protection for pets left outdoors. For example, in Maine, the outdoor shelter requirements apply to all animals, not just dogs, and require Òan artificial shelter, with a minimum of three sides and a waterproof roof, appropriate to the local climatic conditions and for the species and breed of the animal.Ó 7 M.R.S. ¤ 4015(2)(B)(1). The Maine law also specifies minimum space requirements for both indoor and outdoor enclosures mandating that they provide sufficient space to allow each animal adequate freedom of movement and be structurally sound and maintained in good repair to protect the animals from injury and contain the animal. 7M.R.S. ¤ 4015(3). For dogs, even greater protections are required:
[A] shelter must be provided that is fully enclosed except for a portal. The portal must be of a sufficient size to allow the dog unimpeded passage into and out of the structure. For dogs other than arctic breeds, the portal must be constructed with a baffle or other means of keeping wind and precipitation out of the interior. The shelter must be constructed of materials with a thermal resistance factor of 0.9 or greater and must contain clean bedding material sufficient to retain the dogÕs normal body heat.
7 M.R.S. ¤ 4015 (6). This responds to the argument often made that every breed of dog does not have the same needs in terms of protection from the elements. An arctic breed might be comfortable outdoors when a dog with a thinner coat would not be. It also brings enforceability to the requirement that body heat must be maintained, the same standard set forth in the Pennsylvania statute but without any description to guide humane law enforcement officers and police investigating dogs in danger.
Similarly, in Minnesota, another state where winter weather conditions can be life-threatening for animals kept outdoors, the law specifies that shelters for dogs must include Òa moistureproof and windproof structure of suitable size to accommodate the dog and allow retention of body heat.Ó Again, that provision is similar to the Pennsylvania law but the Minnesota statute further provides that the structure Òshall be made of durable material with a solid, moisture proof floor or a floor raised at least 2 inches from the ground.Ó It specifically provides that Òbetween November 1 and March 31, the structure must have a windbreak at the entrance.Ó Minn. Stat. 343.40(2) (2008). It also requires a sufficient quantity of suitable bedding material to provide insulation and protect against cold and dampness.
Advocating for Comprehensive Outdoor Shelter Laws
As we’ve seen, the legal requirements for outdoor dog shelters vary widely across states. While some jurisdictions have implemented detailed and protective measures, others lag behind. All state cruelty laws should specify the type of shelter required that will actually provide humane housing for dogs kept outdoors. While many of us would prefer a requirement that dogs be brought indoors, this is literally the least we can do for our best friends.
Animal advocates, lawmakers, and responsible pet owners must work together to establish and enforce comprehensive outdoor shelter laws that truly protect dogs from the elements and ensure their well-being.
